BUFFALO, N.Y. — Well "Thank god" for Target.
That's what a Buffalo woman is saying, after she and her husband spent Christmas Eve in the Walden Avenue store, after being stuck in their car in the parking lot the night before.
Beverly David Lewis and her husband Danny thought they had time to run out for one more thing for their family's Christmas dinner on Friday morning before the storm hit.
So they left their home in University Heights and headed towards Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga. They ended up in a white-out and spent Friday night in their car in the Citizens Bank parking lot there. By Saturday morning, they were almost out of gas, and they called Target to see if they were open.
"The folks at Target, their salaried employees were the people that were left in the building and they took amazing care of everybody," Beverly said. "As soon as you walked in, they helped you get into the building. They greeted you with a blanket, and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate from the Starbucks."
Beverly says they were invited to take anything they might need, like a change of clothes, food, and air mattresses to sleep on. The employees even got a TV out to show the Bills game.
"I understood the severity of the situation, but I also understood the kindness that they displayed," she said. "I will be honest. Not one person in that store took advantage."
Beverly didn't think to stop and take many photos, but the group shot as well as another person's Tik Tok videos have been shared widely since this all unfolded.
Beverly's lesson? Don't go driving before a blizzard, but if you're going to get stranded, get stranded at Target.
"Be stranded at Target, because like I said Target is the most gracious, the most gracious experience that I've had. I've had a lot of experiences, but this is really a top 10 for sure," she said.