If you live anywhere in the north of the US (or occasionally ... even in the south), you can expect a couple days and nights of snow, snow, and yet more snow. Large snowstorms and blizzards can make for terrible driving conditions, which poses a dilemma for restaurant owners - to close or stay open? Here's some factors to weight in when making your decision:
Check the weather early and often to plan ahead. Even with the most advanced satellite technology, large storm patterns are notoriously unpredictable and can change at the drop of a hat. If you have a large event planned, it's probably smart just to cancel it all together, and give your customers advance notice that you are doing so. Typically, large storms can be tracked with a decent degree of accuracy 3-4 days in advance, so you can start planning early, cancel large events and reschedule, and also communicate with all of your staff to ensure they can make it in safely.
Staff safety is, of course, a large concern for you and your management team. If you have employees who live closer by to your establishment, ask them - with a couple days advance notice - to swap shifts with employees with longer commutes. This cuts down on dangerous driving conditions, especially late at night, for your staff as they try to leave work. Communicate with your management team and ensure that they know to tell servers, line cooks, and everyone else scheduled to let them know if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe commuting. Chances are you'll be slow, so less staff means less overhead.
Speaking of - is it worth it to stay open? This depends largely on your customers. Pay attention to their habits and react accordingly. If you're in a walkable, metropolitan area, they may welcome the chance to spend their snow day with you. If you're in a more remote location, however, is it really worth staying open for just a couple customers? Probably not - but look at sales from previous 'bad weather' days when making your call.
Regardless of whether you stay open or closed, let everyone know your plans (and if they plans change). Social media is a great tool to communicate with your customers, and most of them will think to check it (or call ahead) before heading out in bad weather. Update your website as well, and perhaps, send out a quick e blast. If you're closed, the last thing you want is people driving or walking up to bang on your door and find out in person in dark, cold conditions. If you are open, you of course want to attract as many customers as possible, so letting people know that you are operational is equally important.
Last, don't be afraid to play things by ear. If the weather conditions change drastically, if your staff is unable to make it in, or if the storm blows over sooner than expected, switch things up and open or close accordingly. If you are open, plan some fun specials or offer all day happy hour to entice people to come on down and stay for a while. Chances are they will be drinking too, so drink specials in particular are appreciated.
