Ah, Memphis in the winter... our winter storms rarely result in picturesque powdery snowscapes with clear roads. They’re much more likely to yield snow-slush with roads made perilous by large pockets of black ice... and overly-confident drivers.
So, what happens at Muddy’s when this happens?
The TLDR:
If the weather is weird, check our Instagram and Facebook for updates... before getting in the car.
The full story:
Our priority is safety, certainly for customers, but especially for staff. But every storm is different and while some are blessedly straightforward, most involve a lot of grey area and best guesses. Also, one of the coolest things about Muddy's is that we still bake everything fresh-- but this means that we don't have freezers-full of already made cakes, cookies, etc.
I (Kat, the owner) and Andrea (general manager) watch the forecasts, check in with other businesses, and personally test the roads. We communicate a lot with staff to get a feel for who is even available (different neighborhoods may be less navigable, childcare is an issue if school is out, etc). Taking in all the data, we make a decision about operating hours and make one of the following decisions:
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Business as usual. In this scenario, we stick to our regular open hours and assume that at least most staff can get in, so we’ll make few changes to the menu. Anyone who has a preorder with us that they need to postpone or cancel should get in touch asap-- we know y'all are also making hard decisions with the same info we have, so we try to be as accommodating as possible.
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Closed. If we decide to be closed for the day, we personally reach out to anyone who has an order scheduled for pickup and work with them to either move the date of the order or refund. Usually if it was bad enough out there for us to be closed, most of these orders are getting postponed anyway!
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Adjusted hours and menu. This could be adjusted open hours, or often just starting our workday later to avoid staff driving on slick roads in the dark.
This scenario is the most variable, as what we’re able to produce will depend a lot on how many staff- but also what skillsets- can come in, what we were able to prep the day before, etc.
The hours and menu may be limited. We may need to adjust pickup times for orders or even details of the order itself (ie: adapt the decorations on a cake depending on the artistic abilities of the staff who could work). Either way, communication is key and we make extra efforts to ensure clear communication, both on social and with individual orders.
When the roads are slick, we all need to be careful and be understanding. The decision is rarely easy and we take our customers’ special events seriously. But at the end of the day, I think we can also all agree that there’s not a cake on the planet that’s worth risking lives for.
Be safe out there!
xoxo, Kat
PS. Here are some of my favorite resources for winter weather
- MemphisWeatherNet -- this is my weather Bible. No pressure, guys.
- IceMelt for walkways, parking lots, etc: I order up in November and scatter is like birdseed both before and after ice
- MLGW tips to prevent frozen pipes
- Hose faucet covers