Sandy Shuts Down Tri-Boro Businesses

With hours without power under their belts, what some tri-boro residents said they wanted most was a hot cup of coffee Tuesday.

People waited in line outside a mobile cooking stand set up on the sidewalk near Trackside Bar & Grill run by Owner Scott Gabriel. Gabriel said he gave out more than 100 cups of coffee Tuesday morning. He visited Stop & Shop and bought as much bread as he could so that he could keep making sandwiches all day long.

Residents, from the tri-boro and beyond, appreciated him opening up the stand. Joe Cohen, a Bloomingdale resident, waited on line for some hot food and said he stopped when he saw the stand open.

"I went to work, it was closed," Cohen said. "This was the only thing I saw open from here to Oakland."

Other patrons in line said they drove from Boonton looking for any place they could get a warm drink and hot meal.

Quick Chek, in Bloomingdale, was also offering hot coffee, despite losing power as well. Patrons visited the store in the dark, using flashlights to choose their items. 

On Wednesday, tri-boro residents lined up to fill their tanks at the Hess station on Route 23. Hess was one of the only gas stations open in the local area.

Read more Tri-Boro Patch coverage of Tropical Storm Sandy here.

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