ST. MARTIN PARISH — As the snowstorm that swept across parts of Acadiana nearly a week ago begins to fade into the past, local businesses in St.Martinville are reflecting on its impact, particularly on store inventories.
The severe weather, which caused widespread delays and shortages, left many supermarkets scrambling to adjust. For example, Barbara Dupuis, the manager of Joyce’s Supermarket, shared that while the store typically receives four shipments a week, the storm limited them to just two. This disruption created a significant challenge for the business, making it difficult to predict the severity of the impact on inventory. According to Dupuis, the unpredictability of the storm added to the strain: “It’s a case by case sort of deal because we never know when it’s gonna come, so we ain’t got time to plan. The truck that was supposed to come Saturday came today.”
Joyce’s Supermarket wasn’t the only local store facing these supply chain setbacks. Cade’s Market, another local business, also felt the effects of the storm. Caine Latiolais, the assistant manager at Cade’s Market, explained that the storm pushed back their entire delivery schedule. “All of our truck schedules got pushed back,” he said. “We usually get one on Tuesday, but naturally it couldn’t come in that day, so we ended up getting it on Thursday, and then we got another one Friday and Saturday just to try to catch up.” Customers could clearly see the effects on store shelves. Local resident Cay Viator noted that some aisles were nearly empty due to the delays: “You’d come in here and like half the aisle was completely empty, but yeah, it was just really, really low on supply.”
Despite the setbacks, some businesses were able to navigate the storm more successfully.
Isaiah Rutherford, an employee at Joyce’s Farm and Home Supply, took a proactive approach by ordering extra supplies ahead of the storm. His decision paid off when customers came in looking for plumbing supplies due to the cold weather. “Nobody down here really knows how to deal with the cold,” Rutherford explained. “Most people just came in for plumbing stuff, and if they needed PVC, we had the PVC pieces.”
At Joyce’s Supermarket, the situation has slowly begun to improve. Employee Philip Craig mentioned that although the store’s meat section was bare during the height of the storm, it is now being replenished. “All our meats were pretty bare, but as you can see, we’re filling them up,” Craig said. Similarly, Latiolais at Cade’s Market noted that delayed trucks have finally arrived, allowing the store to recover from the supply disruptions.
Looking back on the storm’s challenges, he described it as an eye-opening experience that has reshaped the store’s approach to future weather events. “Having gone through this and the steps we’ve had to take has definitely affected how we’re gonna prep going forward,” Latiolais said. He remains optimistic that the lessons learned from this storm will better equip the business to handle similar events in the future.
