Walmart closes 415 stores, Amazon closes delivery stations as businesses face harsh weather conditions

Walmart closed 415 stores and Sam’s Clubs and rolled out an interactive map to help Texas shoppers determine whether their neighborhood location was open or not.

And if you didn’t see Amazon delivery trucks in your neighborhood on Monday, the online retail giant closed its Dallas-Fort Worth delivery points to protect its drivers from dangerous roads.

Businesses facing unprecedented weather conditions in Texas, and elsewhere in the southern United States, had to decide on Monday whether worker safety outweighed expectations that they would be open to customers in need of food and drink. ‘other essentials.

“We are assessing the condition of our facilities and will continue to operate as long as it is safe to do so,” Walmart said in a statement. Its closures have affected 10 states, including Texas.

Customers recommended by Walmart check an interactive map that it continues to update before they leave. Some closed stores continued to operate curbside pickup and delivery.

The prospect of a second snowstorm makes decisions trickier during what is shaping up to be a week of subzero temperatures.

“The safety and well-being of our employees, customers and drivers who deliver packages is our # 1 priority,” said Amazon spokesperson Daniel Martin.

Amazon will continue to monitor the effects of the storm in Texas and has asked customers to check the status of orders on its app or on amazon.com. Martin said Amazon will continue to take orders, but the promise to deliver date may be delayed depending on the item and location.

Grocery stores, one of the main stops for people weathering the storm, were open Monday but planned to close early.

Kroger, which usually keeps stores open until 1 a.m., closed at 8 p.m. The Dallas-Fort Worth Central Market stores closed at 6 p.m.

Empty shelves and freezer cases, reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, are temporarily back in grocery stores.

Deliveries from warehouse to stores took place at a much slower pace on Monday, said April Martin, a spokesperson for Kroger. Most of the big chains have their own fleet of trucks, but are supplemented by drivers and third-party vehicles.

Kroger’s back-up generators were also not working in many places due to the continual blackouts, Martin said.

Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores closed at 5:30 p.m. Monday, spokeswoman Christy Lara said. The plan is for stores to open at 8 am Tuesday, “if it’s safe for associates and customers,” she said. Some Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores were unable to open on Monday due to power outages.

Target closed 20 stores across Texas on Monday and prematurely closed about 20 other locations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. The stores will reopen “as soon as it is safe,” the retailer said in an email. It updates the hours on Target.com.

The two main shopping centers in Dallas were closed on Monday. NorthPark Center did not open. Galleria Dallas first told shoppers to call individual stores before the mall closes around noon.

The Golden Triangle shopping center in Denton has also closed, as has the Stonebriar center in Frisco and the Firewheel town center in Garland.

Downtown Dallas Inc. CEO Kourtny Garrett said many Central Business District hotels, including The National and the Omni, were open and at least a few restaurants were operating. The Flying Horse Café and the Crafty Irishman set up their employees in hotels.

The hotels also helped accommodate first responders. Dallas Police Department personnel were staying at the Lorenzo Hotel. And Garrett said most of the calls from the 12,000 downtown residents were about homeless people who were homeless.

Regarding electricity, Garrett said downtown towers have been asked to turn off their lights. Reunion Tower confirmed that its signature Skytop ball of lights will go dark on Monday evening.

It is not known how much energy savings the city’s skyscrapers can generate, she said, but Downtown Dallas Inc. has requested that non-essential lights be turned off to help the city’s stretched power grid. ‘State.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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