Gas Station Workers Pull 36-Hour Shift During Blizzard

When the Blizzard of '26 buried Rhode Island under three feet of snow in February, Krystal Waite and Anthony Lopez didn't go home. The two managers at Seasons Corner Market in Newport stayed at their gas station for 36 hours straight, becoming a lifeline for the people working through the storm.

Waite and Lopez arrived on the night of February 22, planning for a regular shift. But as the snow piled higher and the roads became impassable, they made a choice to stay. "We stood awake. We bounced off each other's energy," Waite said.

At first, they wondered if anyone would even venture out. "We thought we weren't going to have anybody here," Lopez admitted. But soon, plow drivers started arriving, desperate for warmth and a moment to rest between clearing streets.

The two managers opened the café and kept the coffee brewing. For workers battling the storm with nowhere else to turn, that hot coffee and warm building made all the difference. "If we weren't open, they would have had no safe place to go to relax, walk around, or even get gas or food," Waite explained.

The people who showed up weren't just plow drivers. A nurse walked through the snow after finishing a 20-hour shift, too exhausted to make it home. Waite and Lopez arranged for one of the plow drivers to give her a safe ride.

Sunny's Take

Most people think of doctors and firefighters when they hear "essential worker." But during emergencies, the person who keeps the lights on and the coffee hot can be just as vital. Waite and Lopez didn't have to stay, but they understood something important: sometimes the best way to help isn't dramatic or headline-grabbing. Sometimes it's just showing up and staying put when everyone needs you most.

"I couldn't have done it with a better person," Waite said of her coworker. Lopez agreed, adding simply, "It felt good to help people."

For 36 hours, two gas station workers proved that heroism looks different for everyone, and sometimes the most important thing you can do is keep the door open when everyone else has closed theirs.