ROANOKE, Va. – While the snowstorm forced countless businesses to close, some counted on the weather to bring in some cash.
Joseph Mitchell, with Mitchell's Towing and Recovery, is still getting tons of calls days after the snowstorm. But this workload is nothing compared with what he and his crews handled Sunday and Monday.
"We've been running around the clock, calls nonstop, both phones ringing off the hook," said Mitchell.
Ahead of the storm, Mitchell's did its best to prepare -- checking tires and chains and getting its new four-wheel drive rollback truck ready. And it's a good thing crews did prepare because they had to respond to hundreds of calls stretching from Lynchburg to Roanoke and everywhere in between. From stuck tractor-trailers to overturned cars, it's been busy but it's also been a welcome business boost.
"It's unbelievable how much it increases. With the snow here like this, it's not uncalled for us to see 100 calls a day," said Mitchell.
While a storm dumping inches of snow shuts down many businesses; hardware stores like Northwest ACE Hardware on Brambleton Avenue have stayed busy.
"The past couple of days we've been dealing with a lot of snow shovels, ice melt and sleds just because that's what everybody is wanting right now with the snow," said Michael Thomason, store manager.
It's proof that snow doesn't always hurt businesses; sometimes it helps.