WASHINGTON — Mark Grace of Capitol Hill is gearing up for a new kind of holiday tradition. He’s celebrating Thanksgiving outdoors with a small group of friends and family while maintaining physical distancing.
“I’ve got a wood-burning fire pit that I will be using," Grace said. "I’ve been cleaning out the backyard, sweeping and getting outdoor chairs ready."
Grace is far from the only DMV resident thinking outside the box when it comes to Thanksgiving prep in the time of coronavirus. And the desire to survive a November al fresco dining situation has created a high demand for anything to keep toasty while enjoying holiday dinners.
While Grace is content with his fire pit, many others are hoping for heaters. Charlie Hawkins, the manager of Frager's Hardware on Capitol Hill, said homeowners and business owners are all shopping for the same thing.
“Patio heaters and tabletop patio heaters," Hawkins said. "They are definitely completely out of stock. But we have them on our truck. We have two trucks a week from our warehouse, and I haven’t seen any in about the last two weeks.”
Propane to fire up those outdoor heaters are hard to find too. Whether you’re shopping at a big-box retailer or small neighborhood hardware store, it's advisable to call ahead to check on the availability of your shopping list. Hawkins said their supply at Frager's Tuesday afternoon wasn’t likely to last long.
“Sometimes we can even go two or three days without even having a delivery,” he said.
Tents, canopies, and awnings are going fast too. Bryan Loane, from Loane Bros, Inc in Baltimore, said restaurants, schools and homeowners are scooping them up, making this season the busiest yet.
“It’s been a scramble since March,” Loane said. “We have a very large inventory, which has been fortunate, because we've needed quite a bit. We've actually had to buy quite a few to accommodate the needs.”