"It was very bad. The ground was so hard. It was like digging on the cement here. You could not dig footings, couldn't pull concrete. We didn't work for three weeks. We just got back this week. People did not want to get estimates or quotes or put it off. (They said) 'We'll get back to you after the weather.' It was the worst winter I've had in four years," said Banks, who owns Deck Daddy's.
This week's warm-up, where temperatures are expected to top the 60s through Thursday, and above 70 on Friday, has been a welcome sight.
"As soon as we get a few warm days, (everyone's like) 'oh, spring is coming,' and they want quotes, they want estimates. 'Hey, we need to get our deck re-done,' or 'we want to do a screened-in porch or outdoor living,' and then our phone starts blowing up, our website, and everything else. ln that snow time, we probably got one, two calls a week or leads. We'll end up with seven or eight a day (with the warmer weather)," said Banks.
At the State Farmer's Market, Jackie Nordan has set up a stand selling beans from his Kenly-based Fresh Farm.
"My growing season is getting ready to start, so I'm excited," Nordan said.
He said this was the best Monday he's had since opening in early November, and is expecting crowds to pick up as the weather improves. Nordan got a preview of what those crowds were like this past Saturday.
"Saturday, being a warm, beautiful, pretty day, was the best day we've had since the Christmas holidays. I think all the vendors probably had a chance to sell so much more product than we've been able to do," Nordan said.
"You have the spring butterflies. It's spring flutter. As we're starting to get a little bit closer again, customers are coming in, and then they're looking at it, and they're going to start shopping pretty heavily with us over the next couple of weeks," added Bryan Christensen, General Manager of Logan's Garden Shop, which is also at the State Farmer's Market.
Christensen said he expects foot traffic to double this weekend.
"This is a great time of year to get your plants started. That's what we always tell our customers. This is a way better time than later in the year. You want to get the root system established as a good example so that your trees and shrubs and a lot of your perennials, as they're just starting to come on, it's the best time of year to get them in," Christensen explained.
The ice and snow accumulation affected driving conditions, making it difficult for food truck operators. Tashi Dolkar, who co-owns Tashi's Kitchen with her husband, said they relied on catering in January, but are looking forward to crowds picking up with the improved weather.
"We are very excited because as the weather gets better, the people will come out more and we will be very happy to sell to our community," said Dolkar.
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