You’ve heard the expression, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So during the blizzard of 2010 in Northeast and Mid Atlantic states, that’s what several businesses did – except they used snow and made snow cones!

As the 2010 blizzard progressed, the list of business and government closings grew longer and longer as the days wore on — and the snow started falling even harder. Malls, law firms, doctor’s offices and most commerce came to a standstill. But if you got out and walked around Maryland, Washington D.C. and probably several other locations around the Northeast and Mid Atlantic states, you would find bars, restaurants and a few stand-alone shops open.

Businesses that remained open in D.C. were bars and pubs like M Bar, Urbana, and Jimmy Valentines just to name a few. Many offered snow specials for coming in. Z-Burger was charging $1 a burger. Restaurants in hotels were open as well, such as Degrees Bar and Lounge in the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown. In Maryland, Metropolitan Coffee House was filled with customers that were going stir crazy in their homes; at the coffee house they were enjoying coffee and bagels. At Chick and Ruth’s Delly in downtown Annapolis, employees stayed in the restaurant’s Scotlaur Inn Bed & Breakfast so they wouldn’t miss a day of work. It has been the busiest there since the holidays. Even a few CVS stores and Rite Aid’s were open with limited hours.

Those that opened saw steady business, and for some neighborhood joints, it was a chance to attract new customers whose regular haunts were closed.