Restaurant benefits from power outages

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Not everything to result from Friday’s storm and subsequent power outages was experienced negatively.

The lucky few businesses to maintain electricity through the weekend received more traffic and profits than normal.

Penguin Point, a restaurant on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale area welcomed an overwhelming number of customers starting Friday afternoon.

The restaurant’s assistant manager, Brandon Smith, said the weekend could not be compared to any other he has worked in the past six years.

“We had the opportunity to help a lot of people out,” Smith said.  “[Customers] were all the way out to the street, all the way around the building, every parking spot in this lot was full.”

Business was booming so much more than normally expected that Penguin Point has struggled to keep its menu items stocked.  Food and supplies have come from other locations of the restaurant chain in Warsaw and Auburn.

Smith said the experience has been a prime example of supply and demand

“We ran out of fries. We ran out of chicken… We had a truck come this morning and we’ll have a truck come tomorrow,” Smith said.  “We worked hard all weekend and we stayed all weekend and it took an effort from everybody that works for Penguin Point.  We were more than happy to serve the community.”

Smith expressed hope that the restaurant made a good impression on any first-time customers to come in as a result of the power outages.