Businesses trying to cope

Tulsa-area hotels remained full Tuesday, and restaurants with power drew long lines as residents continued to cope with the aftermath of the ice storm.

Meanwhile, area grocery stores reported strong demand for water and other essentials, although no widespread shortages were seen.

Most hotels and motels had long waiting lists and were booked for the next several days, as it appeared likely power would not be restored in some neighborhoods for a while.

Shortly after the lights went out at Purin Williams' Broken Arrow home during the ice storm Monday, she started searching for a hotel for her family to stay in.

It was a long search.

"All the hotels were sold out yesterday when we called," she said. "Even the travel agents said they couldn't find anything."

She finally got a room Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza Tulsa, but she was one of the lucky ones. Many hotels remained closed due to widespread power outages, and the ones that could stay open were packed with people hoping to escape their darkened and rapidly cooling homes.

Jessica Frey, a front

"Our waiting list is over two pages long," she said.

Marlin Keranen, general manager of the Crowne Plaza, said his hotel never lost power, but staff had to scramble to keep up with demand.

Keranen said that the hotel hadn't yet run out of major supplies by Tuesday afternoon and kept up with customer demand with almost no complaints.

"Nearly everyone understood we had the same dilemma they did," he said.

Keranen said his hotel and others may remain full through the week, as many of his customers are requesting multiple nights.

At the Best Western Airport, front desk clerk Jennifer Jones said the facility lost power from 3 p.m. Monday afternoon to 10:30 p.m. that night.

Yet the hotel stayed open. She said the staff had made printouts of room availability before the outage just in case, and checked people in and out.

"We had a few guests go home, but a lot of guests came to the lobby," she said. "We ordered pizza."

Jones said the Best Western was full Tuesday, largely due due to out-of-town workers from the Asplundh Tree Expert Co. working to remove fallen branches in the area.

Finding a hot meal

At Tulsa-area restaurants spared by the storm, managers reported that business was off the charts.

"Our sales doubled on Monday, and we expect the same Tuesday," said Mike Banks, manager of the Los Cabos in RiverWalk Crossing in Jenks.

Long lines and hefty waits for a table didn't deter determined diners.

Monday night "was crazy," said Chris Wheeler, a manager at the On the Border restaurant on 41st Street near Tulsa Promenade. The Mexican eatery had a 106 percent increase over the same day last year, Wheeler said, and trucks from food distributors arrived on schedule.

At the El Chico Cafe in Tulsa Promenade, "We're extremely busy," said manager Scott Bryant. And there is no food shortage, he added. "We have all the food that we need."

Fast-food chains also have been besieged with customers

At an Arby's at 21st Street and Harvard Avenue, cars encircled the fast-food eatery Monday evening and the restaurant was packed inside.

It remained deluged Tuesday. "We're handling it pretty well," a manager said.

Getting groceries

Area convenience stores and grocers also stayed busy.

QuikTrip Corp. spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said he'd heard reports of customers following QT food delivery trucks to the company's locations to buy sandwiches as soon as the items were unloaded.

The six Tulsa Food Pyramid stores were without power and closed Monday morning. Generators were trucked in from Missouri, however, and now all locations "are up and open and fully operational," local spokesman Paul Ross said.

The chain's stores are at 101st Street and Memorial Drive, 51st Street and Harvard Avenue, 71st Street and Garnett Road, 42nd Street and Peoria Avenue, 81st and Yale, and 51st Street and Memorial.

Super-size generators are able to sustain the stores' deli and seafood departments as well as all frozen foods and fresh produce.

The stores also have been restocked with essentials such as fire logs, bottled water, batteries and flashlights. Fire wood will be available at noon Wednesday at all stores, Ross said.

All locations of Food Pyramid, owned by Springfield, Mo.-based RPCS Inc., are open from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Back-up generators are keeping many of Reasor's grocery stores operating, although a number of area locations -- including those in Jenks, 41st Street and Garnett, 41st Street and Yale Avenue, 101st and Elm in Broken Arrow and the Owasso store on 86th Street North -- did not lose power and remain open 24-7.

Area stores received some shipments Monday night of some brands of fire logs, batteries, candles and lamp oil, Reasor said. All current pharmacy shipments have been received and stocked, he added.

The stores also have not yet experienced any shortages of bottled water, although larger, one-gallon containers may run low. Reasor said he is looking to obtain those larger bottles from another source.

Stocking essentials

Another area store using a generator to stay open is Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow. It brought in the device from Memphis, Tenn.

In addition, Bass Pro has received trailer-loads of critical items such as generators, flashlights, batteries, water containers, bottled water, propane and warm clothing, the company said in a press release.

Bass Pro Shops will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until power is restored to the community, officials said. Normal store hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Contibuting to this story were Tulsa World staff writers Debbie Blossom, Laurie Winslow, Robert Evatt and Jason Womack.