Many Restaurants & Grocery Stores Closing Due To Extreme Cold

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- With so many people hunkering down to stay out of the cold, many companies are closing their doors early Tuesday and Wednesday.

Surly Brewery off of University Avenue in Minneapolis has been a refuge to many who find it too cold to hang outdoors. But they you better drink quick, because they are shutting down early Tuesday night, and they will be closed all day Wednesday.

Dan Dinovis, Surly's vice president of hospitality operations, says dangerous temperatures is not something he wants his employees to endure.

"I think it's important that people are safe they want their employees to be safe and not get stuck on the roads," Dinovis said.

Surly is not alone. Giordano's Pizza in Uptown will also close early Tuesday night and all day Wednesday to keep their employees from going out in the extreme cold.

Family fun events, like the Ice Castles in Excelsior, will also close Wednesday to protect employees and the public from dangerous wind chills.

The East Side Co-Op on Central Avenue is super busy.

"We did put the word out on our social media platforms first to Facebook, Instagram, then Twitter. We did send an email out to our owner base," said Molly Baeverstad, East Side Co-Op's marketing manager.

That email and signs posted throughout the store reminds customers the co-op will close early and stay closed all day Wednesday.

"A number of our staff uses public transit to get to work every day, and with temperatures dipping below that negative-20 threshold, having people waiting at the bus stop did not seem like a safe option for our staff to get to and from their shifts," Baeverstad said.

Customers are racing against the clock and the cold to get what they need to hang out inside at least for the next 36 hours.

"I would tell them to get to the liquor stores before they close so you can be home with an ample supply of Surly to brave out the cold the next couple of days!" Dinovis said.