NATCHEZ &045; You can expect a learning curve with any new job you start.

But Barbara Barnes, the new cashier at Kaiser’s Mobil on U.S. 61 North, wasn’t expecting anything like this.

&uot;The gas lines were around the back&uot; of the store and down U.S. 61 to the south in recent days, Barnes said during slower times Saturday.

On Saturday, the store &045; like so many others in the Miss-Lou &045; was out of gas and didn’t know when it would get more, announcing that fact on a handmade sign on the front door.

&uot;I got trained real quick,&uot; Barnes said with a laugh.

Even those who have been with their businesses for years, however, will admit they’ve seen few times as busy as this.

Lines to the pharmacy, both inside the store and at the drive-through window, &uot;have been almost double&uot; the usual number, said Marie Hollins, manager of the Rite Aid drug store, which stands just in front of Natchez’s largest Red Cross shelter, the Steckler Building at Natchez High.

Customer traffic at the front of the store has also been steady, she said, adding that &uot;we’ve been running nonstop double shifts&uot; of employees to help with the influx of customers in the days since Hurricane Katrina hit Monday.

The biggest problem has been getting supplies &045; everything from sodas to ice &045; from vendors in time. &uot;As soon as we get some, we sell out,&uot; Hollins said. &uot;But our vendors have been good about sticking to their delivery schedules.&uot;

However, that store did sport a handmade sign on the front door Saturday afternoon to let customer know the store was out of ice.

Lines at grocery stores and drug store drive-throughs were long Saturday afternoon.

Natchez hotels, inundated with evacuees in the days since the hurricane battered New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, continued to do a brisk business.

Ron Brumfield, manager of the Natchez Eola Hotel, said the influx of people continued to be good for the hotel’s buffet &045; running lunch and dinner at reduced rates since the storm hit &045; and for the hotel side of the business.

&uot;We were one of the few places (hotels) that didn’t run out of food, since we have a pretty large storage area,&uot; Brumfield said.

However, by Saturday the situation was beginning to have unexpected results on the hotel side.

&uot;We were supposed to have the Grambling State football team in here, but we need the rooms for people (already) here,&uot; Brumfield said.

&uot;Then, too, we were supposed to host the Farm Bureau (meeting attendees), but they cancelled because they need all their agents in the field.

&uot;We get a lot of our business through the New Orleans Airport, and who knows when that will be open,&uot; Brumfield added.