A number of businesses on Franklin Street were closed on Friday, even though downtown Watkins Glen didn’t get as much snow as the forecast called for. However, there were many in Schuyler County that did get that much.

“It was a lot more snow than there was down here when I got downtown,” co-owner of Tobey’s Donuts and Reading Center resident Lorena Tobey said.

“My friends and I were planning to meet in Watkins Glen and we were originally getting on the road much earlier,” Hammondsport resident Erin Rafalowski said.

As for why Tobey’s Donuts stayed open:

“Tobey’s are die hard,” Tobey said. “You know when you make donuts you got your donut maker here at 1 a.m. starting, or yourself here at 1 a.m. If you’ve got donuts made you’ve got to sell them. Plus you know emergency responders may have needed a place to get in out of the weather and you know have some coffee or something warm to eat. And the locals of course we’re here for them all the time.”

Though making the decision to stay open was simple, executing it wasn’t.
  
“It wasn’t easy getting here,” Tobey said. “I up got around my normal time like two or three in the morning and I looked out and was like ‘oh man,’ I knew that it was going to be bad,” Tobey said. “I got in the car and headed out the driveway and nothing had been touched. The roads were like past my knees.”

And Schuyler County towns and villages weren’t the only places to see significant snowfall. Rafalowski said traveling to Watkins Glen took much longer than usual.

“Shoveling out of the driveway was not easy and the snow is quite deep and wet,” she said. “When your neighbors snow blower stops working you know that a you’ve had a real storm. So we are all buried in.”

Despite making it to Watkins Glen, Rafalowski’s journey was far from over.

“We are headed to the Hudson Valley for a little friend reunion so we’re just continuing on slow and steady.” Rafalowski said. “We have a friend from LA, Seattle and Atlanta all of their flights landed safely and hopefully we’re in the Hudson Valley by 5 o’clock.”

Stay tuned to 18 News both on air and online for weather alerts and closing updates.