By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER

anixon@tribunemedia.net

FREQUENT power outages have forced LonBon’s Ice Creams to absorb higher operating costs, discard inventory and occasionally close its doors, as the South Beach business works to stay afloat through an unpredictable summer.

Owner Lonna Bethel said business has remained relatively steady despite the challenges, with some weeks performing on par with last year and others recording stronger sales. She credited customers for continuing to support the business despite the disruptions.

“Some days mirrored last year, and we’ve had some days that were much better than last year, or some weeks that were much better than last year,” Ms Bethel said. “But whatever it is, the business has remained afloat. Again, I have to keep crediting the customers because week after week they do support.”

However, keeping the business operating has come at a greater cost as electricity supply remains unreliable. Ms Bethel said LonBon’s, which has operated since April 3, 2021, invested in a generator as a backup measure, but the equipment cannot power the shop’s air-conditioning system.

“We do know that there’s obviously been just inconsistency with the power and electricity, and so we’ve not been able to rely on electricity as a sure way of conducting business,” she said.

The generator has allowed the business to keep its freezers running and protect its inventory, but Ms Bethel said fuel and generator management have created a significant additional expense.

“It gives us a significant added expense, because now you have to pay for fuel for that generator,” she said. “You have to run that generator, and it’s in terms of the management of the generator. It’s a whole thing on its own.”

Ms Bethel said the generator has been used more this year than at any point since the business opened.

“Every day has felt like a day of prayer for me,” she said. “We’ve had to use it so much more this year than we ever had.”

The outages have also directly affected the business’s ability to remain open at one point. Ms Bethel said there were periods when LonBon’s had to close for an entire day or part of a day because of the loss of power.

“There was one point in time where we had closed for two days while we were restocking, getting new inventory, and giving everything time to just get back where it needed to be,” she said.

On another occasion, the business had to dispose of at least eight tubs of ice cream after an outage compromised its inventory.

“I threw away at least eight tubs of ice cream which may not seem like a lot to someone, but inventory, it matters, and that definitely cuts into your profit when you’re balancing at the end of the day,” Ms Bethel said.

The outages have also created an uncomfortable environment for customers during the summer months, particularly because the generator cannot support the shop’s air conditioning.

Ms Bethel said some customers have chosen to leave rather than wait in the heat, with some saying they would return another day.

“Coming back would not necessarily be that day, which I can definitely understand why they would feel inclined to come back as opposed to remain under those conditions,” she said. “It is uncomfortable, and we’ve had many express that feeling. The way the heat has been set up this summer with the AC on, it’s still uncomfortable sometimes. So imagine not having that at all.”

The business has implemented measures to monitor its inventory during overnight outages. Cameras allow staff to determine when power has been lost, while someone is able to reach the shop quickly to activate the generator.

Ms Bethel said the shop’s freezers are also designed to retain cold air for several hours, but the business does not rely on that alone because of food-safety concerns.

“You could have a few good hours of ice cream remaining hard or frozen because of the quality of the generators, even after the power has gone out,” she said. “But we never want to take that risk because it’s food. Safety is most important to us.”

The unpredictable nature of the outages has made planning difficult, with Ms Bethel describing the frequency as sporadic rather than following a consistent pattern.

“We’ve had some really good weeks this summer where power has just remained on and no challenges whatsoever,” she said. “And then we’ve had weeks where you know some days it may turn off twice in one day, some weeks it may have turned off two times in the week. It’s been very sporadic. You just don’t know when.”

While Ms Bethel could not immediately quantify the additional operational cost associated with running the generator, she said the added fuel expense is unavoidable.

“But for sure, it’s to be expected definitely, with fueling up the generator,” she said.

Despite the financial and operational strain, Ms Bethel said community support has helped the business continue operating.

“We’re very grateful for the community. They’ve continued to support,” she said, noting that customers from across New Providence have supported the business over the years.