The Kroger on LaVista Road at Northlake Mall was open Wednesday morning, but the scene was a far cry from the panicked buying Monday and Tuesday as area residents rushed to buy bread and milk before the storm.
About a dozen hardy – or tardy – shoppers braved the slushy roads to stock up before the next round of ice, snow and freezing temperatures expected Wednesday night.
North DeKalb resident Paul Witeczek loaded a few bags of groceries into his car. It was his second trip in three days.
“Actually I made a coffee run. That was the necessity,” he said. “I was out shopping on Monday and it was bedlam. … This was paradise.”
Most residents in the Northlake area of DeKalb County still had power by lunch Wednesday and major roads were still passable. Inside, the Kroger was well stocked with staples, including bread, milk and batteries, although some items were in shorter supply.
“He got the last of the ice cream salt,” Witeczek said, pointing at a fellow shopper who had a dozen boxes of the stuff. “Smart man.”
While some drove to the store, others walked. Brian Hyden, another nearby resident, watched for the walkers.
Hyden, a building inspector at Georgia State University, whizzed around the nearby streets on an ATV checking to see if walkers needed a ride.
“I don’t like staying in the house, so if I can give somebody a hand I’ll give them a hand,” he said.
Hyden’s four-wheeler was equipped with a small spade, a machete and a chainsaw, putting him in good stead for just about any roadside emergency. He said he planned to stay out all day looking for people to help.
Some walked by choice.
“I get stir crazy sitting in my house,” said Bill Nigut, longtime Atlanta television reporter.
Nigut trudged along a slick sidewalk on LaVista Road carrying a bag a few supplies, including some magazines for his wife and daughter.
“They’re stuck inside,” he said.
For years, Nigut was a fixture on Channel 2 Action News. Now he hosts an issue-based news program on Georgia Public Broadcasting called “On The Story.” When a big story like the ice storm breaks, Nigut said he still feels the itch to be part of it.
“But on the other hand, I see my old colleagues from Channel 2 scattered to the winds, sitting in icy weather, and I think, ‘I don’t miss this at all,’” he said.
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