From restaurant to market
Hampton Roads spots have been transformed, offering eggs, meat, produce . . . and toilet paper
For weeks, it was the mystery of the ages: Why are all the grocery stores out of toilet paper? Why can’t I reliably get eggs and milk and paper towels at Kroger or Harris Teeter?
Turns out, it’s an artifact of how America’s supply chain works. There are separate distribution chains for businesses and restaurants to get those eggs and produce — distributors like Sysco and Performance that bring food to restaurants and not grocery stores.
And believe it or not, a certain portion of our economy is structured around the fact that you probably use the bathroom at work. Restaurants and offices might get their toilet paper by the pallet rather than the family pack. And so during coronavirus, they have TP when grocery stores don’t.
To augment business during the coronavirus pandemic, local restaurants have responded to this sudden gap in the supply chain. Many restaurants are becoming markets, little auxiliary pantries where you can
pick up the bare (and barebutt) essentials. In many cases, they’re also providing new outlets for local produce from farmers who don’t have deals with the supermarkets because they usually sell food to restaurants.
Heck, even national chains have gotten in on the game. Panera locations now sell milk, eggs and tomatoes online in addition to bread. Jason’s Deli locations will deliver meat, dairy and bread. Huddle House offers a list of wholesale eggs, meat and dairy. And starting last weekend, even some locations of the Waffle House in Hampton Roads are running drivethru wholesale grocery marts with overstock ingredients they’d otherwise use in their food: cases of sausage and bacon, hamburger patties, bags of waffle mix and even some pretty cheap Worcestershire sauce.
Other local spots, such as the many Taste locations and Pendulum Fine Meats in Norfolk, have always sold pantry fare.
But here are a few more local restaurants where you can load up on onions, eggs, albacore tuna and gloves during these COVID-filled days when supermarkets are, frankly, a little scary.
The Shack
712 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach, theshackvb.com
Perhaps the most prominent restaurant market locally is the one at The Shack on the Oceanfront, which converted its whole voluminous space into a market for produce and seafood. At The Shack, you can pick up seafood from local fishermen, produce from local farms and a roll or two of toilet paper — alongside she-crab soup, soft-shell crab sandwiches, and orange crushes in the style of their sister restaurant, Waterman’s.
Croc’s on 19th
620 19th St., Virginia Beach, crocs19thstreet bistro.com
A mile away, Croc’s has turned itself into an onlineordering version of a market and take-home deli, selling family platters of pasta and chicken Parmesan alongside onions, romaine lettuce, eggs, onions, tomatoes and milk. And yes, they also have toilet paper.
Notably, the parking lot at Croc’s also plays home to the Old Beach Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, with a drive-thru market offering goods from local farmers and bakers and seafood sellers who have been one of the more invisible casualties of the coronavirus crisis: When restaurants sell less food from farmers’ fields, locals are left with fewer outlets to sell their goods, since most small vendors don’t produce enough bulk to sell to supermarkets. Pre-orders are taken at facebook.com/OldBeachFarmersMarkets.
501 North
501 N. Birdneck Road, 501northvb.com/cornermarket
The freshly opened 501 North restaurant has turned itself into quite the wholesale-style grocery operation, with orders made online and brought to your car. Get pasta by the pound, Duke’s mayo by the pound, frozen local seafood by the pound, cheese and pork belly and salad dressing by the pound, pulled pork barbecue and mac and cheese by the pound. Everything by the pound! Live your whole life by the pound!
Or just order some meatloaf and sides to go. It’s $12, by the plate.
Bay Local
2917 Shore Drive, 972 Laskin Road, baylocalvb .com
At both its Virginia Beach locations, Bay Local has a downright impressive array of fresh and local seafood and produce available at new open-air markets: This means local oysters, fresh-caught fish, including rockfish, mahi, tuna and a whole universe of crab, alongside root veggies and whatever else came up from local farms. Local products like hot sauces are also available, and if you buy a meal from Bay Local you can also leave with a crush or mimosa to get your buzz on at home.
Hot Tuna
2817 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, facebook.com/hot tunavabeach.
Every Wednesday and Sunday morning, Hot Tuna converts into a market with fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, and some items you might be familiar with from the restaurant: Hot Tunaseared brioche buns, to-go salsa and chips, taco kits, pizza kits and pint containers of she-crab soup. Want some TP or paper towels? These happen here, too.
Indulge Bakery and Bistro
10359 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, facebook.com/Indulge BakeryandBistro
In addition to chili bowls, dogs, tacos and take-home quarts of soup, Indulge Bakery in Newport News’ Hilton neighborhood is offering a “mini mart” with some surprising options. Pick up a germophobic cornucopia of paper towels, TP, sanitizing wipes, bleach, gloves, and spray bottles with sanitizer tablets. They also offer boxes of veggies — lettuce, carrots, broccoli and much more — at $22 for a generous box. Order by email from the menu on their Facebook page.
The Grey Goose
Along with family meals and DIY grill kits for the warm weather to come, the venerable old Grey Goose has your back with a smattering of home goods: vinyl gloves, paper towels and boneless chicken thighs and tenderloins by the pound.
Sam Rust Seafood
620 Regional Drive, Hampton, samrust.com
OK, so Sam Rust isn’t a restaurant. But the venerated seafood purveyor usually only sells wholesale and to restaurants, so we’ll consider this a treat anyway. Now Sam Rust will sell directly to regular old Joes and Jills like you. Pick up a hefty family pack ($65) or seafood boil pack ($85), or just get some fish by the case, pint or pound.
Surf ’s Up Cafe
100 Cary’s Chapel Road, Poquoson, facebook.com/ SurfsUpBar.
On a sort of catch-ascatch-can basis, Surf ’s Up brings in a nice little array of blueberries, oranges, shrimp and maybe toilet paper. Check the Facebook page for sudden pop-up markets.
Four Eleven York and The Birch
Four Eleven: 409 W. York St., Norfolk, fourelevenyork.com. The Birch: 1231 W. Olney Road, thebirchbar .com.
If there’s a thing a restaurant can do to pivot during the coronavirus crisis,
Malia Paasch’s two Norfolk businesses are doing it. And so, along with all those take-home cocktails and taco pop-ups and a beautifully economical full-meal mussels platter for two at Four Eleven York ($26), you can also get a few essentials from their respective pantries. Four Eleven York will deliver granola, aged Grafton cheddar, New York strip steaks, 3-pound bags of onions and TP. The Birch will deliver a world of cheeses and beer, but also a dozen eggs, trail mix, and of course the omnipresent toilet paper.
Commune Norfolk and Prosperity Kitchen
Commune: 759 Granby St., Norfolk, instagram.com/ communeprovisions. Prosperity: 532 Virginia Beach Blvd., prosperitykitchenva.com
Both of these spots were always markets with local goods, but Commune in Norfolk has become exclusively so these days, and they’re leaning into it. Bacon from Edwards Virginia Smokehouse, eggs from Mount Pleasant Farms, sweet potatoes and fresh strawberries and other local produce, you name it. (If you want prepared foods from Commune, you’ll have to get them from the Virginia Beach location.) At Prosperity, in addition to much bread, get local jams and beautiful little freezer items like lamb, whole roasting chickens and North Carolina shrimp by the pound.
Redwood Smoke Shack
2001 Manteo St., Norfolk, redwoodsmokeshack.com
In addition to regular ol’ barbecue to-go, Redwood now has a grab-and-go cold case of sausage, brisket and house-cured bacon for all your household meat needs.
Direct farm markets
The Williamsburg Farmers Market (williamsburgfarmersmarket.com) offers delivery of fresh, local produce in and around Williamsburg. The Neighborhood Harvest (neighborhoodharvest.deliverybizpro.com) does the same all over Hampton Roads with a subscription program.
Starting Thursdays in May, the King’s Grant Farmers Market at 873 Little Neck Road in Virginia Beach will open as a drivethru market, with preorders from their page at facebook.com/kingsgrant farmersmarket.
Otherwise, Hampton Roads blog “My Active Child” keeps an updated list of local farm markets with drive-thru and delivery options at bit.ly/ HRmarkets.
Local restaurants have responded to this sudden gap in the supply chain.