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GREENSBORO — Winter is casting its pall on retail for a second weekend, as a rainy, slushy mess led some businesses to close Friday while others stood nearly empty.

Chick-fil-A closed its downtown store at 10:30 a.m. because of the weather. Downtown Greensboro Inc. postponed its “Around Downtown in 80 Minutes” event for Friday night.

First Friday, an event in which downtown stores stay open late, was expected to take place. But many merchants indicated they would close early because of concerns about the weather, said Ed Wolverton, president and CEO of Downtown Greensboro Inc.

Few people braved the miserable weather Friday. Those who did hurried along under umbrellas sometimes turned inside out by the wind.

“It’s definitely impacting revenue,” Wolverton said. “If they can’t open, they’re not making any money and if people are not coming out … then that also impacts.”

At noon, the typically bustling Friendly Center almost had more snow piles than cars. The snow was left from last weekend’s storm, which dumped more than 6 inches on parts of the Triad.

“Any time you have an event like that or an event like today, it just kills the shopping,” said Brad Rogers, general manager of Friendly Center and the Shops at Friendly Center.

But retailers should be able to make up the losses when the weather gets better, he said.

“I think that business will come back,” he said. “They’ll pick that up some way or another. People that don’t come in today because it’s slushy, they’ll come right back in tomorrow.”

Rogers said stores at Friendly Center reported better sales this January than a year ago. He called that a good sign since January and February are typically retail’s slowest months.

He expects stores will continue to offer ongoing deals — a departure from periodic sales that had been the norm before the recession.

Restaurants won’t be as lucky as retailers when it comes to recovering from the weather, Wolverton said. It is harder for them to pick up lost business than retailers, who can rely on customers coming back to buy an essential household item or clothing they had delayed getting because of weather.

Dreary weather actually enticed Kim and Patrick

LeBlanc out of the house Friday. Both had been called off work for the day and decided to take advantage of the time while their son was in day care.

“Not a lot of people to bump into,” said Patrick LeBlanc. The Greensboro couple visited the new International Civil Rights Center & Museum and stopped in a couple of stores downtown before seeing a movie.

Several other customers joined the LeBlancs at Glitters, an eclectic collectibles and tobacco store on South Elm Street.

“Apparently, if you open, they will come,” said co-owner Gary Barskey.

And if you deliver hot pizza, apparently, they will call, too. By lunchtime Friday, Pizzeria L’Italiano had delivered 25 pizzas in four orders.

The downtown restaurant enjoyed brisk business Friday, a far cry from last Saturday when the shop shut down because of the snow. Manager Sal Mascali said he expected to stay open Friday if the nightclubs did.

At Mary Contrary downtown, owner Mary Wasse spent Friday working on projects in her shop. No customers had come in during the first two hours, she said, and neighboring Chakras Spa.

Wasse believes customers will return with better weather. The new museum already has brought more customers her way, she said.

“It’s just been great,” Wasse said. “It’s kind of given us a leg up.”

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com