TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Storms brought widespread power outages to Tallahassee Monday.
One employee even called part of West Tennessee Street a "ghost town" when dozens of businesses and stop lights went dark Monday afternoon.
"It was like someone flipped a switch," said Brazils Waxing Center employee Tamoya Graham.
Some businesses can still function when the lights go out, but at Brazils Waxing Center on West Tennessee Street, they have to turn customers away when they lose power.
"We need electricity so we can have the wax melted down," said Graham.
That was a big inconvenience for Brazils and other Tallahassee businesses when about 10,000 customers lost power Monday.
"We did have about four technicians who were in service at the time," said Graham. "Fortunately, their clients were very understanding and they were able to proceed using flashlights on their cell devices or whatever we could find. After that, we just had those clients who were scheduled for the next hour or two that we had to reschedule. It can be a bit frustrating."
While some places lose business during power outages, others stand to benefit. Ryan Mawson, the Floor Manager at Bella Bella, says he can't even remember the last time they lost power. That means when other restaurants are in the dark, they're getting more people through the door.
"We maybe get like 25% more business," said Mawson. "Midtown, this area in general seems to have a pretty solid connection to some source of power. We suspect it might be because we're on the same grid as the police station two blocks down."
Even the folks who aren't so lucky try to see the bright side on a rainy day.
"Thankfully there wasn't terrible traffic or any car accidents," said Graham. "I went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and they were up and running so it looks like everything is back to normal now."
