Some Like It Cold; Others Just Go Broke

When weather forecasters earlier this week issued dire warnings of torrential rain, bitter cold and blizzard conditions for the Southland, Rich Cygas broke into a wide grin.

When Andy Kohanzad heard the same forecast, he frowned and glumly calculated that he could hang on another three weeks at best--maybe.

Cygas runs a ski shop in Costa Mesa. Kohanzad runs a car wash in Orange. In a case of one man’s misery being another’s fortune, people with livelihoods like Cygas benefited from this week’s Alaskan storm, while merchants like Kohanzad suffered.

‘We’re Out of Business’

“When it rains, we’re out of business,” said Kohanzad, who has had to close his Chapman Car Wash and idle his 14 workers until the weather clears. “Three more weeks like this, and then we go Chapter 11 (bankrupt).”

Cygas, who manages Phil’s Ski Shoppe, said that business was so brisk Thursday he was running out of ski rentals. He planned to stay open until past midnight Thursday to accommodate the hordes of ski enthusiasts who are rushing out to hit the slopes after the storm dumped up to 2 1/2 feet of fresh powder on mountain resorts.

“I’m happy,” said a breathless Cygas, as the cash register rang up transactions in the background.

Ski shops were not the only beneficiaries of the bad weather. Nor were car washes the only losers.

Those on the plus side included indoor theaters, firewood distributors, winter clothing stores and, oddly enough, swimming pool supply companies.

“People put things off until bad weather, so we do more business then,” explained Tom Berrey, manager of Pool Supply for Orange County in Santa Ana.

At The Woodshed in the City of Orange, store owner Don Sayles said the cold weather has doubled his firewood sales this week over last.

“We’re selling and delivering 20 cords a day, which is enough wood to stretch the length of a football field three feet high,” Sayles said.

Umbrella Supply Exhausted

At the Sears department store in South Coast Plaza, men’s clothing salesman Kim Larkins said he has already exhausted the stock of umbrellas and was about to run out of sweaters.

“Oh yeah, I love it,” said Larkins, as he thanked a customer for yet another sale.

Even fur coat sales were boosted by the storm. Sales of the furs, which are more of a fashion statement in Southern California than a staple for everyday warmth, were reported “very strong” in the salon at South Coast Plaza’s Nordstrom store. And the arctic storm, combined with the holiday shopping blitz, seemed to provide an incentive to buy the coats, which range in price from an affordable $500 to a staggering $60,000. “With the cold weather, we’ve done better,” said a clerk at Sak’s Fifth Avenue’s fur salon.

Cold, wintry weather also has driven more people indoors to see the movies. Attendance has been up about 10% this week at 140 Edwards Theaters in the Southland, theater chain owner Jim Edwards said.

“This kind of weather is good for the movies, particularly the matinee,” beamed Edwards, whose headquarters are in Newport Beach.

Businesses hurt by the wet weather included building contractors, ice cream parlors, frozen yogurt shops and boat rental outlets.

“When it rains, you can’t work,” said Dennis Allison, vice-president for the Koll Construction Co. in Newport Beach, which has had to shut down outside work on 10 big construction jobs this week.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), during the big storm, we decided not to run any boats at all and today we decided to curtail our schedule by half,” said Terry Koenig, general manager of Catalina Cruises, which operates boats out of Long Beach and San Pedro. Catalina Passenger Service in Newport Beach ferries people from Orange County to Catalina Island only on weekends this time of year.

In Dana Point, the Embarcadero Marina, which hires out as many as 20 sailboats on clear, sunny days, could not rent a single sailboat Wednesday because of rough seas, according to marina clerk Susan Samuel.

“We’re hoping it clears up by this weekend,” Samuel added.