Walmart closes 415 stores, Amazon closes delivery stations while companies face difficult weather conditions

Walmart closed 415 stores and Sam’s Clubs and put together an interactive map to help Texas shoppers determine whether their neighborhood’s location was open or not.

And if you didn’t see Amazon’s delivery trucks in your neighborhood on Monday, the online retail giant closed its delivery stations in Dallas-Fort Worth to protect its drivers from navigating treacherous roads.

Companies facing unprecedented unpleasant weather throughout Texas and elsewhere in the southern United States, had to decide on Monday whether worker safety exceeded expectations that they would be open to customers needing food and other supplies. core items.

“We have assessed the status of our facilities and will continue to operate as long as it is safe,” Walmart said in a statement. Its closings covered 10 states, including Texas.

Walmart recommended that customers check out an interactive map that it continues to update before venturing out. Some closed stores continued to operate with collection and delivery on the sidewalk.

The prospect of a second snowstorm makes decisions more complicated during what appears to be a week of sub-zero temperatures.

“The safety and well-being of our employees, customers and drivers who deliver the packages is our number one priority,” said Amazon spokesman Daniel Martin.

Amazon will continue to monitor the effects of the Texas storm and has directed customers to check the status of the order on its app or amazon.com. Martin said Amazon will continue to take orders, but the delivery promise date may be delayed depending on the item and location.

Supermarkets, one of the main stops for those facing the storm, opened on Monday but planned to close earlier.

Kroger, which usually keeps stores open until 1 am, closed its doors at 8 pm. Central Market stores in Dallas-Fort Worth closed at 6 pm. Kroger will reopen stores at 8 am on Tuesday, two hours after normal.

Empty shelves and freezer boxes, reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, are temporarily back in supermarkets.

Depot deliveries to stores took place on Monday at a much slower pace, said April Martin, a spokesman for Kroger. Most major chains have their own fleet of trucks, but complement them with drivers and outsourced vehicles.

Kroger’s backup generators were also not functioning in many locations due to continuous blackouts, Martin said.

Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores closed at 5:30 pm on Monday, said spokeswoman Christy Lara. The plan is for stores to open at 8 am on Tuesday, “if it is safe for members and customers,” she said. Some Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores did not open on Monday due to power cuts.

Target closed 20 stores across Texas on Monday and earlier in about 20 other locations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. The stores will reopen “as soon as it is safe,” the retailer said by email. He is updating the time on Target.com.

Dallas’ two main malls were closed on Monday. The NorthPark Center did not open. Galleria Dallas initially asked customers to call stores before the mall closed around noon.

The Golden Triangle Mall in Denton also closed, along with the Stonebriar Center in Frisco and the Firewheel Town Center in Garland.

Downtown Dallas Inc. CEO Kourtny Garrett said that many of the hotels in the central business district, including The National and Omni, were open and at least some restaurants were open. The Flying Horse Café and Crafty Irishman hosted their employees in hotels.

Hotels also helped to house the first respondents. The Dallas Police Department staff were staying at the Lorenzo Hotel. And Garrett said most calls from the 12,000 downtown residents were to report homeless homeless people.

With regard to electricity, Garrett said the downtown towers were asked to turn off the lights. Reunion Tower confirmed that its ball of lights at the top of the sky would go dark on Monday night.

It is unclear how much energy savings city skyscrapers can generate, she said, but Downtown Dallas Inc. asked that nonessential lights be turned off to help the state’s stretched power grid.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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