National

There's No Business Like Snow Business This Winter

By Tovia Smith

Published February 3, 2011 at 9:01 PM PST

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Workers remove snow from the roof of a Home Depot in Methuen, Mass., on Tuesday. After a massive snowstorm, many rooftops in the Northeast were feared to be close to their weight limits.

This year's heavy snow is bad news for many businesses, such as retailers and airlines. But other firms are profiting from the storms. Among the most obvious: ski resorts with fresh powder, hardware stores that still have shovels and salt, and anyone with a snow plow.

"I've had one day off in three weeks," says Pat Perry, 65, from the driver's seat of his front loader. He has made nearly a year's income in one month clearing shopping center parking lots.

"I'm gonna pay my bills," Perry says, "especially the oil bills!"

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"One man's meat is another man's poison, that's all I can say," says fellow plow operator Joseph Biotti in the same Newton, Mass., parking lot.

Also raking it in nearby were some guys who raked snow from rooftops. For the service, they charge as much as $500 an hour.

"Our phones are ringing off the hook," says Bob Bruno, from John Henry Roofing in Boston. "We can't even get to all the stuff that's calling."

"In 42 years of roofing, I never seen this much weight on roofs, and that's the truth. It's insane," Bruno says.

The harsh winter storms have meant overtime for first responders, and for tow-truck drivers like Brendon O'Shea who are suddenly flush.

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"I'm going to the Super Bowl," O'Shea says. "Yeah, but I'm so busy I can't really stop to talk to you."

Cars were abandoned on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive because of wrecks and snow drifts. With more than 20 inches of snow, the storm was the third-largest recorded in the city.

Other businesses capitalizing on all of the spin-outs and accidents caused by ice and snow are auto-body shops.

At JN Phillips Auto Glass, Dan Curran has a line out the door. A customer tells him that she thinks a chunk of ice might have hit her car.

"A snow blower could have hit you right there also," Curran says.

Many of the cars he's looking at were clobbered by snow and ice.

"This winter is beautiful," Curran says. "I know people don't like the snow, but in our business, the more snow, the merrier."

And speaking of merriment, every time forecasters predict a flurry that might close schools, liquor store owner Scott Brown says he sees a flurry of parents at his shop, the Urban Grape.

"There seems to be a little extra courage necessary in some of those households," Brown says. "And they do stop here to get a new supply of that."

And in this case, their courage is Brown's cash.