Central Cafe stays open, residents watch the snowdrifts grow in Middleboro
Latrell Cook, a cook at Central Cafe, is barely visible as he poses in front of the Middleboro restaurant on Monday, Feb. 23. Photo source: Olivia Fuller
Snow covers just about every branch in the backyard of a Middleboro home. Photo source: Rachael Dunbar 
Tenney the boxer didn't know what to do with all of the snow, said his owner Rachael Dunbar. Photo source: Rachael Dunbar 
Snow builds up on a parked car. By Monday at 5 p.m., roughly 27 inches of snow fell in Middleboro. Photo source: Rachael Dunbar 
Lorna Brunelle said the birds around her backyard feeders were buzzing with activity. Photo source: Lorna Brunelle
Snow piles up in front of a doorway. Photo source: Lorna Brunelle
The same doorway is pictured a few hours later. Photo source: Lorna Brunelle
Houses fall out of visibility in the Oak Point neighborhood. Photo source: John Burbage 
Burbage said the blizzard blew snow across almost every window in his house, creating a "snowglobe" effect from inside. Photo source: John Burbage 
More than a foot of snow builds up on a parked car in Middleboro. Photo source: Melodye Conway
Latrell Cook, a cook at Central Cafe, is barely visible as he poses in front of the Middleboro restaurant on Monday, Feb. 23. Photo source: Olivia Fuller
Snow covers just about every branch in the backyard of a Middleboro home. Photo source: Rachael Dunbar
Tenney the boxer didn't know what to do with all of the snow, said his owner Rachael Dunbar. Photo source: Rachael Dunbar
Snow builds up on a parked car. By Monday at 5 p.m., roughly 27 inches of snow fell in Middleboro. Photo source: Rachael Dunbar
Lorna Brunelle said the birds around her backyard feeders were buzzing with activity. Photo source: Lorna Brunelle
Snow piles up in front of a doorway. Photo source: Lorna Brunelle
The same doorway is pictured a few hours later. Photo source: Lorna Brunelle
Houses fall out of visibility in the Oak Point neighborhood. Photo source: John Burbage
Burbage said the blizzard blew snow across almost every window in his house, creating a "snowglobe" effect from inside. Photo source: John Burbage
More than a foot of snow builds up on a parked car in Middleboro. Photo source: Melodye Conway
MIDDLEBORO — As the ongoing winter blizzard builds up snowdrifts, Middleboro residents are nestling down.
With over 2 feet of snow landing in Middleboro on Monday and more to come, residents are doing what they can to stay prepared and positive as winter continues in New England.
From residents of Oak Point to the customers at the still-open Central Cafe, Middleboro is feeling the effects of wind gusts as high as 55 mph and snow accumulations topping 25 inches, according to reports from the National Weather Service.
John and Louise Burbage, who live at Oak Point, have been hunkering down like many of their neighbors who are snowed in. John Burbage said he and his wife are faring well, as large power outages remain to be seen.
“I have confidence that we're going to be okay. It's like the Annie movie, ‘The sun will come out tomorrow,’” he said, noting weather reports predict mostly sunny conditions on Tuesday.
He said gusts of wind have blown snow onto nearly all of his house’s windows. His neighbors' houses now only appear as “outlines” drawn in the white, snowy conditions, and snowdrifts are growing to about 4 feet tall.
Lorna Brunelle, who lives near Oliver Mill Park, said the blizzard brings her back to the historic winter storm of 1978, which occurred on her seventh birthday.
“It's the same kind of vibe where you don't know how long you'll be out of school, you don't know when you're going to go back to work,” Brunelle said. “The winds coming at the house are crazy.”
She said her New England roots have prepared her for anything. She and her family have prepared by charging up their electronics and charging banks, and are cooking up a beef stew as they lay low during the storm.
“We're New Englanders. We're strong. We know what to do,” she said.
Olivia Fuller, co-owner of the Central Cafe at 254 Center St., has continued the pizza parlor’s long-standing tradition of staying open for first responders and road crews during winter storms.
With the help of her brother’s snowplow, the restaurant’s owners and workers opened its doors this morning while the town was blanketed in snow and white-out conditions persisted on roadways.
During a blizzard, the business shifts its priority from service to support, creating a “nice little hideout,” Fuller said. On Monday, they gave out free pizzas to first responders and road maintenance crews while they battled the elements.
“We just think it's super important to keep our doors open for town workers and plow crews so they have a place to have a hot meal and a warm environment,” Fuller said.
“It’s also for residents who have lost power or they just need to get out of their house and have a safe, warm place to be okay,” she added.
Rachael Dunbar, who lives in the Rock Village area of town, said New England was due for a “good” winter storm, and the current blizzard brings her back to the winters she experienced growing up in the region.
“This is crazy. We went through the Winter Storm Nemo and all the other storms, but this is the most significant I’ve seen,” Dunbar said.
