ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The salt shortage continues and local store owners are getting desperate and creative. Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean explains that, with every grain of salt from the American Rock Salt mine in Mount Morris going to towns and cities to drop on major roads, it leaves hardware stores pretty much empty-handed.

At Mayer Hardware on Winton Road in North Winton Village in the city, they are so hard up for rock salt that they’ve had to resort to water-softening salt.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Does this stuff work?”

Koby Green, GM Mayer’s Hardware: “Yes it absolutely will work. You’re not going to get as much traction as you would with a rock salt per se but this is still going to dissipate that ice and snow.”

One customer bought two bags as Brean and Green were talking. Green says that as opposed to years past with very mild winters, sometimes with lucky days golfing in December and January, that’s not the case this year.

Brean started exposing this problem a month ago when contractors like Tony Zucco got deliveries postponed. Last week, towns like Henrietta and Victor said their supplies were extremely low. On Friday, the state relaxed limits on driving hours to keep deliveries up.

“Unfortunately, yesterday, we took a tally and I had to turn away over 100 people coming in looking for salt,” Green said.

At the Ace Hardware store on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford, the salt supply is dwindling fast.

Terry Dacey, Hadlocks Ace Hardware, Pittsford: “So this is all that’s left of what we received this morning.”

Terry Dacey says this area of his store is normally stocked with bags of salt. He’s got a limit of 2 bags per person. Virtually everyone who has come in has walked out with ice melt of some sort, including Brendan and Sarah Devlin.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “What do you have here?”

“Probably the last remaining bags of salt in Rochester,” Brendan said laughing.

“We had kids in the middle of a snowstorm and ran out and it’s finally the time we get to do our driveway,” Devlin said.

The Devlins tried to find salt everywhere, calling Home Depot and even looking on Amazon, which wouldn’t deliver to their neighborhood and only had 50-pound bags.

Dacey thinks the position we’re in is a result of the last two mild winters, with production probably being cut back. He says his purchases of winter goods going into this winter were less than normal.

Liz Buckner, owner of Black’s Hardware, showed Brean the empty shelves of rock salt in her store. The problem is the long, consistent winter has depleted the supply at American Rock Salt and towns and cities get priority. 

Liz Buckner, owner Black’s Hardware: “At this point, they have to make sure they’ve got enough salt for the main roads for commuters and so right now, unfortunately, hardware stores and contractors are the last ones to get it.”

News10NBC made calls to a handful of Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart stores around the county. Not a single one had any bags of rock salt in stock.

News10NBC has requested a tour of the American Rock Salt mine in Mount Morris. Last week, the company said it started mining 24 hours a day late last year and it’s producing more than 2 million tons of salt. But right now, every single grain of salt is going to cities and towns to drop on the major roads.

RELATED:

• Henrietta town supervisor concerned as salt shortage hits area, rationing considered (Feb. 6)
• American Rock Salt faces unprecedented demand, stressing supply chain amid long stretch of cold weather (Feb. 3)
• While some towns near Buffalo warn of salt shortages, Irondequoit says it has enough to last (Jan. 23)
• Local snowplow contractor says salt deliveries cut off, affecting ability to salt crucial parking lots (Jan. 9)

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