KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Typically when Lily Timmerman arrives to Studio Grill for work, there’s a few people already seated and dining. However, on Thursday morning, it was "crazy busy," she said.
“Every single table was talking about how their power was out,” Timmerman said. “And, I was like ‘yeah, my power was out too.’”
Studio Grill didn’t lose power in Wednesday’s night ice storm that caused widespread outages in Southwest Michigan. So, the following morning, customers packed the popular restaurant for warmth, a hot meal, and to discuss when their power will return in their homes.
“I heard everybody in here saying different times,” Timmerman said. “Some people say Friday. Some people say Saturday. Some people have said Tuesday. So, I’m sure it’s different for everyone. I know there’s a lot of power outages right now."
Pictures from the day after Wednesday nights Ice storm in Kalamazoo // @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/m8mdSZHgVp
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) February 23, 2023
Timmerman, who’s a junior at Western Michigan University, said her power went out at 10:30 p.m. that night. She was brushing her teeth and then “the lights went off like boom.” It was dark, so she and her roommates lit candles and used flashlights to get around their home.
The next morning, they saw that ice covered their whole Vine neighborhood.
“There’s tree branches everywhere. Everything coated in ice. All of the power lines were like hanging really low,” she said. “The tree branches are really low because they have coating over everything. Lots of sirens last night.”
Timmerman said she was told that her power was coming back on Sunday. Until then, she’ll continue to work at Studio Grill and help patrons get through the aftermath of the storm too.
“I grew up with the power going out pretty often,” said Timmerman, who’s from Delton. “So I’m not super concerned with that. I know how to conserve the fridge stuff and, you know, conserve our water and everything. So we’ll be alright. I can read some books and things.”
