Streams of customers and hurricane preppers filled big-box retailers Monday in Manatee County ahead of Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 hurricane predicted to make landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday.
East Bradenton resident Karen Tonkin Wakefield made two stops mid-morning Monday at the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store and an Aldi Grocery store in Parrish for her final preparations for her homes she said.
“I’ve lived here since 1982. I have two homes in Parrish and I’m just getting a few last-minute things. I’m feeling okay, not panicking because we had a lot left from the last one (hurricane) just a couple of weeks ago,” Wakefield said.
Wakefield purchased more non-perishables and shopped around the produce aisles just after 10 a.m. About two dozen other shoppers filtered in and out of the discount food store in the newest Parrish retail development.
Next door, a long line of customers formed at checkout counters at the Lowe’s on U.S. 301 in Parrish. Store manager Dusty Felts greeted customers and calmly answered question after question from concerned store patrons searching for last-minute needs. Hurricane supply items like high-powered batteries, gas containers, saws, and generators had been cleared out over the weekend Felts said.
“People started coming in about five days ago. Everyone is taking it seriously this time; most folks started coming in on Friday and we were out of some of those items over the weekend,” Felts said.
A Home Depot spokeswoman said the company has sent an additional 250 trucks with hurricane supplies to stores anticipated to be impacted by Hurricane Milton, including the additional supplies to Sarasota and Manatee counties.
“We begin stocking hurricane-related products in our distribution centers months ahead of hurricane season,” Sarah McDonald said in an email.
“When a storm is approaching, our focus is to get the right products into our stores and to stay open as long as we can to help our communities get through the storm safely. We will make a decision on store closings based on the forecast with associate safety as the number one priority.”
Walmart stores also remained open Monday night, with the company creating a Hurricane Milton webpage where residents in impacted areas can check to see which stores remain open. That information can be found here.
Fuel lines at gas stations along U.S. 301 from Parrish to west into Ellenton began backing up with lines by 11 a.m. in north Manatee County. Customers waited at some 7-Eleven gas stations where gas prices held steady at $3.11 on Monday.
Publix stores also saw a steady flow of customers Monday, with many searching for last-minute food, snacks, and alcohol as the hurricane was forecast to turn toward Florida. One Publix manager in east Bradenton stated that stores will likely be open for part of the day Tuesday as corporate leaders monitor Hurricane Milton. To find out if your Publix is open, closed or when hours change visit https://www.publix.com/pages/publix-storm-basics/publix-store-status.
Samantha Gholar covers social justice for USA Today Network-Florida. Connect with her on X (Twitter) @samanthagholar or by email at [email protected].
Sarasota Herald-Tribune staff reporter Derek Gilliam contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee retailers see steady stream of customers Monday ahead of storm
