Desperate Tampa Bay area residents looking for things like food and gas after Hurricane Irma scrambled the day after the storm to find anything open.
- Long lines at few places open
- Customers grateful for places that rushed to open
A majority of stores remained closed on Sept. 11 due to lack of electricity or because they'd run out of inventory. As a result, stores and restaurants that did open had long lines.
Ace Virani, who runs the Fast 'n Easy Sunoco on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, said as soon as he found out he still had power after the storm, he decided to re-open immediately.
"There's been big lines, but nobody has been complaining," said Virani. "People are very positive about us being open. Everybody's come up and they're so happy."
Virani said he's selling out of almost everything. Bags of ice are an especially hot commodity, since so many people don't have power.
At a McDonald's in the Boot Ranch area, meanwhile, there was a line of cars down the street as dozens of people tried to get food. When the store closed, deputies got involved to disperse traffic.
The scene was similar at Hungry Howie's on Hillsborough Avenue, where Tim Bare said he was willing to wait as long as it took for a pizza.
"It's getting pretty rough right now," Bare said. "Everybody's trying to get something to eat, and I'm a big guy -- I like to eat -- so it's been pretty rough."
Customers said they are grateful for the places that hurried to open, like the Sunoco.
"I told him, 'Thank You,'" said Shannon Bradley. "He's the only one open and it's really taking care of his community."
"I'm hoping that we can do more like this in the future," Virani said. "We're always looking to keep people happy and service the community any way we can."