Stores claim closures harmless

Hurricane Katrina forced many evacuees into the Baton Rouge area to not only seek shelter, but many personal and necessary goods for survival.
However, stores throughout the city, such as Wal-Mart, surprised potential customers by shutting down their 24-hour operations and closing early. Other stores, including specialty shops in The Mall at Cortana closed as early as 5 p.m. – or were not open at all – leaving visitors with bitter feelings.
“They thought the people from the city (New Orleans) were going to loot,” said Da’Vanti Bryant, a senior majoring in education from New Orleans.
According to Houston Hollinger, district manager of West Baton Rouge Wal-Mart stores, they were not closed for that reason.
“(We) replenish the counters during the night,” Hollinger said. “The warehouses that normally serve our stores are in Louisiana and they are now close. They haven’t had any power. Now we are receiving our deliveries from other states.”
Hollinger said he is not sure how long the current store hours will last.
Currently Wal-Mart’s hours are from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except in Plaquemine and Port Allen. Those stores close at 9 p.m. daily.
When some residents went to Cortana Mall to get away from the madness that was left by the storm, they found some of their favorite stores closed.
According to an e-mail by the public relations department at Cortana Mall, the entire mall was closed Aug. 29 due to the hurricane and was reopened with full power at noon on Aug. 30 at noon.
The e-mail said though mall was open, many of the individual stores remained closed because the phone lines were not working. Most businesses in the mall rely on a phone line to process their credit card and debit card purchases.
“We were pleased that we could open our doors so soon after the storm moved through to provide a place for those without power to relax and cool off,” said Percy Singleton, assistant mall manager in an e-mail.
“While the loss of phone service temporarily disrupted the operations of a handful of our merchants,” Singleton said. “Now that phones are back, their doors and our doors are open.”
As of Sept. 7, the phones are back on in Cortana and stores have reopened with regular business hours.
The e-mail also said that in an effort to show evacuees and others affected by Katrina that Cortana Mall is concerned about the welfare of its customers, the mall plans to host a blood drive in conjunction with Our Lady of the Lake Blood Blank, United Blood Services and LifeShare Blood Centers.
The drive, which will be Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be held to help restore the already fragile blood supply threatened by Hurricane Katrina.
“Hurricane Katrina has had a devastating effect on many of our shoppers and their families,” said Vicki Conley, mall marketing director, in an e-mail. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with them.
“Now more than ever, we have an obligation to be here for those in need of clothing, food and supplies,” Conley said. “And a leg up as they try to rebuild their lives.”