Top-shelf job!
City grocers still stocked & loaded
Carlos Perez, a buyer at the Gristedes supermarket chain, typically sources his grocery and body products within a 100-mile radius of New York City. But when the coronavirus outbreak took hold in March, a panic set in among shoppers — and he had to find items wherever he could across America.
“There was no way to keep up with the demand,” said Perez, 55, who has worked for Gristedes for more than 30 years.
Seemingly overnight, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes became the hottest items — and after 1,000 phone calls, the nearest source Perez could find for them was a distributor in Florida.
“I was just nervous [that] I couldn’t find supplies,” he said.
Despite multiple city businesses entering a shutdown in March to curb the viral spread, grocery stores like Gristedes remained open through the worst of the pandemic and into the ongoing recovery. From panic shopping to masked-up and slightly more relaxed aisle browsing, store workers have observed the city’s transition into a new reality through customers’ habits.
And amid shoppers turning to baking products (like yeast), and chicken breasts and rice (when people started cooking more at home as restaurants closed), Perez sees longlasting habits remaining for the foreseeable future.
“Nobody is splurge buying,” he said, observing that people are avoiding buying an extra box of cookies or other sweets at checkout. “People are only buying essentials . . . It’s strictly economic uncertainty.”
In individual stores, meanwhile, employees have had to manage crowds of shoppers coming in during the pandemic’s early days.
“It was never slow,” said Luis Torres, 51, the manager of the Gristedes at West 54th Street and Columbus Avenue, of the foot traffic in March and April. “It was always busy. It was a steady flow of people.”
But that doesn’t mean customers flouted social distancing guidelines .“Everybody was respecting the rules in the store,” he said. People stayed apart from each other, and Torres’ store let five people in as five exited.
“It wasn’t a point where we had to close the doors at all,” he added.
Of course, there were the infamous runs on toilet paper, paper towels and disinfecting products (household items can still be tough to find), but the rush spread to other sections of stores.
Max Schiffman, the dairy manager at the Gristedes on First Avenue between 65th and 66th streets, said eggs — a staple for cooking and baking — became a must-get item at the outset.
“People would be buying them out of the box as I was putting them out,” he said, adding that during these weeks in March and April, business more than doubled in his store, where he’s worked for 22 years. “I was always ordering extra and getting whatever I could get.”
Schiffman said the rush has since slowed.
“Summertime is traditionally a slow time in supermarkets,” he said, noting that it’s not just because outdoor dining has returned at a number of city restaurants. It’s because many New Yorkers who fled the city remain out of town, something he sees each day as he takes the bus to and from his Alphabet City home.
“You look out the window and the streets are not full,” he said.
There’s an uphill battle for the foreseeable future as distributors try to provide products in lesser supply. But there’s a silver lining.
“People have been a lot nicer — they don’t get upset if you’re missing their favorite yogurt or ice cream . . . They seem to understand more,” said Schiffman.
“They thank us for coming to work every day.”