HOLT — Despite icy road conditions, residents are still stocking up on groceries.
Brown's Grocery store manager Austin Walani said that even though the typical early morning business was slower than usual, the Wednesday afternoon rush was normal.
"We had people come in and buy bread and milk; we also sold quite a bit of firewood," he said.
Patricia Peterson commuted to work to run the store's deli counter. Peterson drove to Holt from Crestview, along U.S Highway 90, to fill in for a co-worker unable to make it in.
"It was real nerve wrecking," she said. "I lived up north for five years, so this was nothing, but for those who don't know how to drive (in these conditions) that's the scary part."
The commute to work, which regularly takes 30 minutes, took an additional 10 minutes by traveling no more than 25 miles per hour, she said.
Peterson said the store was seeing the same amount of customers. She said a few residents from the nearby rural area of Harold came to the store to buy food due to their homes being without power.
Overall, the difficult weather did not keep regular customers away from the store.
"The snow, the rain, the sleet, nothing stops the people in Holt," she said.
Several of the regular customers would agree.
Resident Regina Hinesley went to the store with her boyfriend Derrick Patrick and 4-year-old son, Colin Patrick, just to get some fresh air.
"We've been stuck up in the house," she said. "So we came up here to buy some lotto tickets."
Hinesley said they also bought batteries for flashlights, in case they lost power.
Longtime resident and regular customer Jerry Summerlin said he was enjoying the cold weather.
"I love it," he said. "I have worked off-shore near Alaska before, so this is not that bad."
Summerlin said he plans to return to work at Eglin Air Force Base on Thursday afternoon.
Despite the cold weather, Walani said the store would remain open during regular business hours, as long as the customers keep coming.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Holt residents stock up on groceries