Dark days of winter are bright for some local shops

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Shouldn’t it be warming up by now?

It seems like winter just won’t quit.

But not everyone is complaining.

The cold and rainy temperatures are good for some people, especially businesses that may see an uptick when the weather is bad.

Norcross-based insulation contractor Home Energy Inc. got an extra boost last year from the federal tax credit, owner Phil Wheeler said.

Add that to the fact that it hasn’t been this cold since the 1980s and “it’s been very, very good,” Wheeler told the AJC.

The wet weather has forced some store owners to get creative: tiny bodegas are selling rubber boots, scarves and knit gloves.

And it’s turning others -- like the lone man with the umbrella stand outside the Five Points MARTA station -- into entrepreneurs.

The shivering salesman in a green knit cap said he didn’t want his name to be used but offered up that people aplenty had come by in the morning to buy one of his long, black umbrellas, which were going for $5 a piece.

Among the retail shops at Atlanta Underground, Atlanta Dollars has been selling off its ponchos, umbrellas and other bad-weather gear this season, said Eve Tominna, whose parents bought the store in 1998.

She sold just a couple of umbrellas Tuesday morning but said if there’s heavy rain outside, that’s when the customers really start coming in.

Despite the favorable business climate, Tominna said she’s ready for spring.

“I’m from Michigan, and I don’t think they’ve had it this cold,” she said.