Captive Consumers : Cold Cash Blows Into Castaic With the Snow

In Castaic, there’s no business like snow business.

When surprisingly fierce winter weather closed the Grapevine on Interstate 5 and stranded hundreds of truckers and motorists in Castaic on Wednesday, money snowed down on Castaic’s merchants like the white flakes that blanketed the Santa Clarita Valley. Sales of hamburgers, burritos, hot cocoa and coffee were as fast as a good bobsled ride.

But by Thursday, after the California Highway Patrol announced that the Grapevine would remain closed at least through today, almost all the truckers and motorists headed south to find other routes. In one day, Castaic slumped from boom town to ghost town.

The drastic change in fortune came as no surprise, Castaic merchants said Thursday. Over the years, they said, they have developed a love-hate relationship with the snow that, falling on the Grapevine, can fill or drain their cash registers each winter.

The Grapevine, as described by the CHP, is a mountainous stretch of I-5 that winds like a grapevine roughly from California 138 through Gorman and down into Kern County. The unincorporated community of Castaic is the last haven for truckers before Gorman, 25 miles to the north.

When the snow temporarily blocks the Grapevine--say three or four hours--it traps drivers in Castaic just long enough to encourage them to shop or eat, merchants said. If the snow stays too long, as it did Thursday, it drives the customers away.

Even so, merchants said, they appreciate the snow. A good road closure can help a small business survive until summer, when thousands of weekend tourists descend on the town and nearby Lake Castaic.

“I think everybody prays for snow,” said Debra Johnson, a cashier at a Castaic 7-Eleven. “We do look forward to the closures.”

Business boomed at the store Wednesday. It ran out of 12-ounce coffee cups and completely sold out of hot cocoa mix. “We sell out of everything that can keep people warm,” she said.

At the Foster’s Freeze next-door, workers brewed seven pounds of coffee Thursday morning for motorists who had slept in their cars overnight, said Lupe Calderon, restaurant manager. On a typical morning, she said, the restaurant brews only two pounds.

Supplies--except for pastrami--held out well, Calderon said. Those who couldn’t get pastrami at the Foster’s Freeze apparently walked over to the 7-Eleven.

Thursday at 7-Eleven, a lone pastrami sandwich sat next to a handful of burritos and sandwiches in the refrigerated display case.

The store still had plenty of Slurpee mix, however. “That doesn’t tend to sell in the snow,” Johnson said.

“This was a good snow closure,” said Gerald Barnes, owner of a Radio Shack. Barnes said he rented 500 videos on Wednesday, roughly one video for every 10 Castaic residents.

Unfortunately for Barnes, Wednesday happened to be “Dollar Day,” when he rents out videos for a buck rather than the customary $2. “ ‘Dollar Day’ killed all the profit,” he said.

“Yesterday was good,” said Tara Mistry, manager of the Subway sandwich shop, speaking of Wednesday’s business. “We had the locals because they were trapped.”

But by Thursday afternoon, the Subway was deserted.