Last week, while a snowstorm caused vehicle collisions and spin-outs in Bellevue, the Topolino’s Pizza delivery van could be seen steadily making its way through the icy downtown streets. Having a delivery driver who used to live in Russia was helpful, said co-owner and chef Zack Msaih.

Snow didn’t take Msaih by surprise. It’s something he planned for as soon as he heard the forecast. He knew he would need extra dough, pasta, toppings and a hotel room within walking-distance of his Northeast Eighth Street restaurant.

The preparations paid off. On Jan. 18, 3-to-6 inches of winter wonderland blanketed parts of the city.

“We are swamped,” said Msaih, who manned the restaurant with just his co-owner, Caryl Abergel, and their delivery driver.

The flood of to-go orders, including people buying 12 to 15 pizzas, came from snowed-in residents, employees of corporations downtown who didn’t want to brave the cold on their lunch hour; and people staying in hotels because they had lost power at home.

The all-day hustle paid off: Topolino’s doubled its profits, raking in $3,000.

But not all were so lucky. Novilhos steakhouse in Factoria lost $50,000 in a six-day period.

First, it lost money having to close early for four days before the snow hit, as the forecast called for freezing rain and customers weren’t coming in. Then, Novilhos closed from Jan. 18-20, as batches of snow, freezing rain, hale and finally slushy roads and compact ice made headlines.

“Business has been horrible … [plowing is] not moving quick enough,” said Elle Barksdale, Novilhos spokesperson, on Jan. 20.

She said mall administration was slow to plow the parking lot near Novilhos, focusing instead on the areas near Nordstrom Rack and Target.

Other local businesses lost customers, too.

While Belle Pastry was able to keep its Main Street storefront open, manager Toom Ratnapinda estimates the shop lost about 20 percent of its normal sales Jan. 18, as the breakfast-hour rush was almost non-existent.

The people who did show up tended to live in the neighborhood and were grateful for having a warm place they could come to eat, Ratnapinda said.

At 520 Bar and Grill, also in Old Main, people wanted an escape from their cabin fever, said owner Randi Brazen. While the weather meant selling out of a few menu items and customers having to be patient because of a leaner staff, she was pleased with the snow.

“It was really good for business,” Brazen said. “People were walking in for lunch or dinner after building snowmen.”

Staff writer Nat Levy contributed to this report.