Winter storms, like the one that dumped approximately 10 inches of snow on central Iowa last week, are a mixed bag for Ames businesses.

While some close and take a snow day when students and consumers do the same, others keep working.

“I had four guys delivering pizzas, and I had two guys out there in SUVs pulling out everyone,” said Cody Murphy, manager of Jeff’s Pizza, 2402 Lincoln Way.

Yet even as he was short staffed, businesses jumped.

Murphy said orders received on Tuesday and Wednesday were approximately double what the restaurant would see during the same period in a normal week.

Tony Dugan, manager of Family Video, 3407 Lincoln Way, said his business also saw a spike in traffic due to the storm.

“Tuesday, when the storm hit, we did almost 1,100 rentals, which is — it’s almost unheard of for a Tuesday; 1,100 rentals is usually what we would see like on a Saturday night during the winter,” Dugan said.

When bad weather is predicted, people prepare to bunker down.

“It was definitely people getting ready for the storm,” Dugan said. “But you’d be amazed at the people who came out in the weather, too.”

During a storm situation, safety is top priority for businesses.

Murphy said only four of his seven delivery drivers braved the snow.

“If they felt that they weren’t safe out there, then they had the option to not deliver,” Murphy said.

It helps to have staff that live close to work.

“Myself and one of our other openers live close by, so we were lucky enough to open on time,” Dugan said. “You know, if the weather’s really bad and we end up opening a few hours late, we’ll do that — but we’ll do our darnedest to come in and make sure the store is open for our customers. We’ll walk here in the snow if we have to.”

Despite businesses’ best efforts, though, bad winter weather does cause delays, such as in distribution.

Monte Streit, store director for Ames’ east Hy-Vee, 640 Lincoln Way, said the delivery trucks originally scheduled for Wednesday instead arrived Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve run short on a few things,” Streit said.

But he said staples such as bread and milk remained in supply throughout the storm.

For the most part, though, despite any hiccups that may occur, consumers understand that businesses are doing their best under difficult conditions.

Murphy said that even with long delivery times — sometimes stretching to three hours — most customers remained polite and satisfied.

“I was just amazed at how patient everyone was,” Murphy said.

The courtesy extends the other way, too.

Dugan said he fielded calls from customers who were snowed-in and unable to return their movie rentals on time.

“We would rather have them stay home and be safe and work with them on their late fees,” Dugan said.

It’s service and availability that can set a business apart from its competition.

“We’re open rain or shine, 365 days a year,” Dugan said. “On a day like that, when there’s nothing else to do, we want to make sure we’re open to serve our customers’ needs.”

And for businesses that cater to students, the decision to stay open can be doubly important, Murphy said.

“In a time of need, we try to be there for the people who, they’re kind of shut in,” Murphy said. “A lot of students here don’t have cars.

They don’t really have that option of driving out to find something themselves.”