Bad weather's good news for neighborhood shops, restaurants

A single box was all that remained in the Legos section of a West Seattle toy shop Saturday as the snow piled up outside.

By nightfall, Curious Kidstuff owner Ann Walker, whose 11-year-old shop also appeared to be selling out of board games and puzzles, marveled at the sudden turnaround in business. A few weeks earlier, she had worried about having too many toys to sell given the economic recession.

Along with other small, locally owned shops, Curious Kidstuff is benefiting from the uncommonly wintry weather as last-minute Christmas shoppers look for close-to-home alternatives to regional malls. Bars and restaurants in Seattle's densely populated neighborhoods say business is booming for them, too, though perhaps at some expense to downtown eateries.

"Saturday might have been the best day we've ever had, and we're still busy," Walker said. "I think people are leery of going far from home."

As snow fell Sunday, pedestrians braved the icy sidewalks on Capitol Hill to shop and stand shivering in line for coffee at Espresso Vivace's sidewalk bar.

At the nearby CD and DVD store Grüv, manager Jason Grimes said local residents with "cabin fever" have been stopping by. "Everybody's kind of banding together, and you've always got the weather to talk about," he said.

Seattle-based Bartell Drugs, which has 56 stores in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, says it's selling more "stocking stuffers" and other Christmas items than usual.

"I think people are trying to stay close to home when they do their shopping," said Rebecca Siegmund, an assistant vice president of marketing. "What we have in stores is selling really well."

For businesses benefiting from the weather, it couldn't come at a better time: By all accounts, this year's holiday shopping season is likely to turn up some of the weakest sales results in decades as shoppers try to pare back their spending amid rising joblessness, shrinking 401(k)s and declining home values.

But the weather doesn't seem to be creating additional spending money, just redistributing it. Malls in downtown Seattle and Bellevue say they have not been as busy as expected for this time of year, and downtown restaurants say they've noticed fewer office workers coming in for lunch and dinner because of the weather.

"There are so few people working, and our lunch business is dependent on the neighborhood professionals," said Tim Baker, director of operations and marketing for the Wild Ginger restaurant in downtown Seattle, which nevertheless reports a steady business in downtown shoppers and hotel visitors.

"We've had some cancellations of Christmas parties and some have rescheduled for after Christmas," added Ed Grandpre, general manager of the Oceanaire Seafood Room near Pacific Place in downtown Seattle. "Along with everyone else, we're slow, and the weather's playing a big part of it."

But Jeff Eagan, co-owner of Seattle Ale Houses, which has restaurants in Phinney Ridge, Columbia City and Queen Anne, said he's seeing more people come by foot, bus — even cross-country skis.

"They put their skis up, come in and have something to eat," Eagan said. "They're not working, or they can't get to work, and they want a place where they're comfortable and can have fun."

Seattle Times restaurant reporter Nancy Leson contributed to this story.