In Rockville, a Grocery and Residents Restock

Morayma Rivera noticed two things about the at the Rock Creek Village Shopping Center in Rockville on Tuesday. 

“No ice cream whatsoever,” she said. “Starbucks is packed.”

The in-store Starbucks was popular with laptop users who enjoyed air conditioning and free Internet.

Shelves were generally well stocked with the notable exception.

On Sunday night, the frozen food aisles were blocked off. Employees could be seen emptying the freezers of food.

“If we have any reason to believe the perishable items have lost their integrity, we immediately discard them,” said Craig Muckle, manager of public affairs for Safeway.

Safeway has 22 Montgomery County stores. At least half lost power and, in many cases, had generators brought in, Muckle said.

Some stores closed, including , which reopened Monday when residents reported homes in the neighborhood also regained power. All Safeway stores had power by Tuesday afternoon, Muckle said.

“Really now the challenge is getting back to full operational capability in terms of restocking,” he said.

Giant Food reported that more than 70 stores lost power during the storm, but all 173 remained open, with many operating on generators.

Rivera found what she needed at Safeway early Tuesday afternoon, she said. She lost power at her Rockville townhouse behind the shopping center on Friday night. Power returned at 10 a.m. Monday, though she was still without air conditioning, she said.

The City of Rockville is distributing air conditioning units to city residents through its Community Services Division. The division also is accepting donated units to be delivered to needy residents at no cost. Click here for more information.

Rivera said she didn’t lose much food in her refrigerator or freezer. The reason? On Saturday night, when it became apparent that while her frozen food was still frozen, it might not be for much longer, she called up friends and began cooking on her gas stove.

“We had a big dinner party,” emptying the refrigerator, she said.

Rick Wagner, of Twinbrook, said he considered cooking what wouldn’t keep. “But we didn’t want to heat up the whole house,” he said.

Wagner said he lost about $40 in perishable groceries after the power went out. He spent Monday sitting outside in his yard. “I put a blanket on the ground in the shade and laid out—got a book and a couple of pillows.”

At noon on Monday the power returned to Wagner’s home. He said he was generally pleased with the storm response. A City of Rockville work crew in his neighborhood on Saturday morning predicted three to five days before power would be restored.

“There was presence out in the street and that’s what needs to be there,” Wagner said.

Jane Hoddinott of Rockville said that a friend’s loaned generator had kept her refrigerator running. But by Tuesday afternoon, she wondered how the perishables had held up.

“Thinking now, I’m not sure that it’s safe,” said Hoddinott, who with her sons spent part of Tuesday helping her sister-in-law clear debris from her yard in Manor Woods.

The damage wasn’t as extensive in Hoddinott’s neighborhood near Welsh Park, though the neighborhood remained without power Tuesday afternoon, she said.

The neighborhood is near the and Montgomery College, which was to host the city’s Independence Day celebration and fireworks on Wednesday before .

A neighborhood list serve reported that a Pepco representative with a work order had been spotted. The estimated restoration time for the neighborhood was 11 a.m. on Friday.

While the power outage fomented frustration for some, for Rivera, it was a nostalgic reminder of childhood.

“Being without electricity is kind of normal for me,” said Rivera, who grew up in Puerto Rico where storms would knock out power a few times a year. “I was kind of happy except for the heat.”

She was trying to keep a positive attitude about a situation that affected everyone, she said.

“It is really hard for people,” she said. “But it is an emergency. We can’t change some things. So we have to wait.”