HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Businesses that have reopened in the Houston area are experiencing long lines as people seek essential supplies such as groceries, gasoline, and hot meals.
On Tuesday, cars lined up outside businesses across the city.
Susan Balderas waited patiently in line at a gas station located at Buffalo Speedway and the Southwest Freeway feeder road. It was her second attempt to fill up her tank.
“I took my lunch break today to find gas because in my neighborhood, a lot of places still don’t have power,” Balderas explained. “Gas stations are running out, and there are long lines everywhere.”
James Puckett, another resident in line, noted that he had seen longer queues extending down the street in previous situations.
Meanwhile, some drivers pulled into parking lots of closed gas stations in hopes of filling their tanks and gas cans.
As some turned to restaurants for hot meals, others searched for open grocery stores.
H-E-B reported that all their stores are open during regular business hours, although some may have limited availability for curbside pickup and delivery.
A Kroger spokesperson stated that all their stores are operational except for specific locations:
– 9703 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress, TX 77433
– 360 FM 1960 West, Houston, Texas 77090
– 8000 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, Texas 77380
– 6767 Spencer Highway, Pasadena, TX 77505
– 2619 Red Bluff Road, Pasadena, TX 77506
At the Kroger on North Shepherd in The Heights, manager Jeff Bailey mentioned that the store remained open throughout the storm. Despite losing power during the storm and relying on backup generators, they had to discard all frozen and refrigerated items for safety reasons.
Bailey expressed pride in his team’s efforts to restock essentials quickly, ensuring that the community had access to necessities such as water, bread, batteries, ice chests, canned goods, and more.
Lisa New, who visited the North Shepherd Kroger on Tuesday afternoon, shared that her family still lacked power and was feeling stressed and thirsty. She filled her shopping cart with juice.
“(Monday) was the most terrifying day of my life,” New recounted emotionally. “We had huge trees falling down everywhere.”
She warmly hugged Bailey while shopping and expressed gratitude for the store being open.
“I think they’ve done a fantastic job restocking,” New observed. “It’s not like COVID where everything was cleaned out. People are getting what they need, hoping the power will come back on in a few days and not trying to empty the store shelves.”
