How Sonoma Valley grocers are adapting

By Leslie Nicholson

With grocery shopping being one of the few “outings” for most people in these days of shutdown, local grocers are carefully balancing the need for their customers to be confident that stores are safe and sanitary, while maintaining a friendly atmosphere.

No matter where you shop for food during the pandemic emergency, you cannot overlook how our local grocery stores have stepped up to provide a higher standard of customer service in the form of Plexiglas shields, a strict regimen of sanitizing between customer transactions, half-hour and hourly surface sanitizing, and careful monitoring how many customers are in the store at a time to help maintain social distancing rules.

Beyond what changes are visible to customers as they shop, there are many steps going on behind-the-scenes.

“Before the shutdown, we had our employees wear masks while they were prepping food in the store,” explains Mario Huertado, manager of La Favorita Market in Boyes Hot Springs. “We wanted to make sure that we were doing whatever we could to keep our customers safe, even though there was no one telling us at that point that we had to take extra precautions. It was just the right thing to do.”

Whole Foods Shift Leader Matt Murray explains some of the new protocols for employees, vendors, and people picking up food donations. “We do temperature screening for everyone who is entering a designated separate entrance,” Murray explains. “We have a strict routine that calls for people to be sent home to quarantine if they have a fever. We are now using a thermal camera and have designated a person to use a temperature ‘gun’ on each person who is coming to work. We want to make sure that our team members and vendors are well.”

But beyond all of the safety precautions are managers and employees who are there to make sure the friendly connections with customers are not lost in the whirlwind of change caused by the need to keep each other healthy and safe.

All agree that customers are abiding by the new requirements to wear masks and follow store guidelines that limit the number of shoppers allowed in the store at one time.

“It was heartbreaking when the shutdown first went into effect and our regular customers were not coming in,” says Huertado. “Beyond just our essential job of keeping people fed, the daily interactions and jokes with our regular customers is such an important part of what keeps us all connected and lifts our spirits. It has been good to see the store start to get busier. I am just happy we can continue to do what we do to keep our customers fed and safe.”

Keeping stores stocked with inventory has kept local store managers on their toes as the pandemic has stretched from weeks into months. Customers are now accustomed to seeing empty shelves in the paper goods and cleaning product aisles, and most recently the worry of shortages has shifted to the meat department.

“We just have to watch the news to see what shifts in shopping patterns we will have to anticipate,” says Murray. “Our business keeps rolling and adapting to whatever shifts the pandemic requires us to make in our cleaning routines and changes in inventory.”

At Broadway Market, manager Al Robles is making changes for his customers and keeping business moving through his doors as smoothly as possible. The store is also offering a home delivery option.

Broadway Market is working with its meat supplier, Harris Ranch, to keep up with customer demand. “The shortage of drivers has created a need for outsourcing driving to different companies and that coupled with less meat products has resulted in a price increase for meat and poultry.”

Robles found a way to help his customers who are looking for baking supplies, in high demand because many people have  been baking to fill their time. The store has found a way to repackage large quantities of flour, cornstarch, and yeast into small amounts to keep their shelves stocked.

“When we can’t get enough of a certain item, especially for cleaning items and paper products, we have been doing online searches to find alternate brands to keep up with demand,” adds Robles. To meet another need, the store has been offering delivery.

Cody Moody, Sonoma Market manager, says that he has seen a shift in customer patterns as the shutdown has continued.

“I have seen a strong return to the dinner table. We saw so many canned goods being purchased during the first weeks and now there is definitely a greater preference among shoppers for perishables and fresh fruits and vegetables. People also have moved away from the ‘European-style’ daily shopping routines to shopping less often and buying ahead to avoid having to make unnecessary trips out of their homes,” he explains. “We also see the store getting busier earlier in the morning and then from 2:00-3:30 p.m., a change from our normal busier periods. Just recently we have started to see a slow return of the dinner rush.”

A slow down in the sale of hot meals and deli business at Broadway Market is another indication of how people’s shopping patterns have changed. “There are a lot more people cooking at home and we are making sure we are shifting our focus on how our customers are shopping for more ingredients,” says Robles. “Our suppliers are filling orders, but when we can’t get enough of a certain item, especially for cleaning items and paper products, we have been doing online searches to find alternate brands to meet demand. ”

“We see less visits by our regular customers, but when they shop, they definitely have fuller baskets,” adds Murray. “People have their lists, get what they need and don’t spend a lot of extra time in the store. Customers have become more efficient shoppers. “There is less chance of the store becoming overcrowded, which is safer for everyone.”

He says it’s rare if someone tries to enter without a face covering. “If a customer does not wear a mask, they are politely told that their purchases will not be rung up. We want to send the message that we are concerned about everyone’s health and safety, and that we want to be compassionate to the most vulnerable in our community.”