Got a full belly? Thank your local grocer

Mar 25, 2020

The grocery business is tough in normal times, and these are not normal times. Stores are adept at tracking the sales of hundreds of product lines by the day, week, and month in order to stock what people are looking for most or all of the time.

Ten days ago, well ingrained shopping patterns were tossed out the window. At the same time, well established cleaning protocols were turned into what one grocer described to me as “OCD cleaning”, and that was before the social distancing regimes were even in the cards.

Store owners and managers have been scrambling for product, learning about new and teaching their staff and customers about brand new safety standards, dealing with unprecedented demand, and setting up new pickup and delivery services, all at the same time.

Here is a rundown about what the stores are up to, from north west to southeast this time.

Northbrook Foodland

The store’s hours have been reduced somewhat, but they are still pretty long, from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week, and also from 7am-8am for seniors only. They are also offering both a delivery and pickup service from Monday to Friday for people who can’t get out or have returned from travel. Customers can call 613-336-2647 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to place an order. Delivery orders sent in early in the day will sometimes be delivered that afternoon, the next day at the latest.

“We have an amazing amount of support from the local community, and so many offers of help,” Charlene Van Dusen said this week. “We have had to make so many changes to everything that we are doing, just about every day, and I’m sure there will be more as time goes on.”

Her biggest concern at the moment is to ensure the safety of the store’s customers and staff. To do that the floors in the store have had spots marked off where customers need to wait in order to keep everyone two metres apart at all times.

North of 7 - Plevna

Bill James of the North of 7 restaurant and grocery store said that all in all things have “gone pretty well” thus far.

The store has been busy and he has been ordering extra food, and dealing with some shortages, “but all in all we have been able to keep everyone supplied with what they need. The store remains open during its normal hours of 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am-5pm on Sunday. The extra cleaning and constant sanitising has been a burden for staff, and the restaurant, which was very busy through February this years because snowmobile traffic was up over the last few years, has been slowed down by the new rules, since it is only open for takeout on Fridays and Saturdays from 11am-7pm. Telephone orders are preferred.

The store is also offering a delivery service for groceries. Orders need to be called in Mondays, Tuesday morning at the latest to 613-464-2155.

Mike Deans Grocery store – Sharbot Lake

Gordon Dean, who owns stores in Bourget and Winchester as well as Sharbot Lake, hasn’t been to Sharbot Lake that much over the last few weeks. He has been spending most of his days in his office in Chesterville calling suppliers and making arrangements to keep his stores supplied in the face of unprecedented demand. As an independent, he had the advantaged of more inventory than most affiliated stores carry, but that did not last.

“We sold a year’s worth of toilet paper in two days,” he said, “I had some advance warning from the experience in other countries that toilet paper might become an item for hoarding, but there was no way anyone could keep up.”

Not only has he been working day and night to keep stock, he has been working with staff in all three stores to increase sanitation and now social distancing protocols. The store is open shorter hours than before, 9am-7:30pm every day, and delivery is available now as well, for those who can’t get to the store.

“I’ve been through other disasters over the years,” Gord Dean said, “ice storms, power outages, other weather events, but nothing like this. This is much bigger.”

Establishing distance protocols in the store has been a priority this week, and it has been a challenge. There are posters, message on screens in the store, hand sanitizers at entrances and staff have been informing customers, but “it has been a challenge” he said. Plexiglass at cashier stations will be coming later this week.

Verona Foodland

Verona Foodland has made some important changes in order to respond to the COVID-19 reality. As of Monday, March 23, the store has shortened hours, from 8am – 6pm Monday to Saturday and 9am-6pm on Sunday (LCBO hours are 9-6) , but it will also be open between 7am and 8am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for seniors only in order to provide a safer time to shop for a more vulnerable sector of the population.

“This is a really important time for our store,” said Clint Reid, who owns the store with his wife, Andrea. “There is a need in the community for our products, as everyone knows, and we need to keep our staff healthy as well.

The store is taking some extra measures, with help from community members, by offering delivery, for seniors and people who are self isolating due to travel or an illness with COVID-19 like symptoms.

The delivery service is on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Fridays. Orders must be called in by noon on the day before delivery to 613-374-2112. Customers need to provide their name, address, phone number, and credit card information.

The store management also wants to remind all those who are returning to the community from the south that these systems are in place to enable them to get the products they need to remain safe while self isolating. Feel free to call a neighbour or the store to get the ball rolling.

Local Family Farms – Verona

Kim Perry of Local Family Farms, carries locally produced meat and many other products, and also makes soups, pies and entrees. With so many people at home, cottagers coming to stay, she has been busy getting stock in and very busy in the kitchen keeping up with demand for prepared meals. She has also been sending people to other stores in the area for items that she does not carry and had people come her way from those stores.

“We are all working together, which we always do, but even more so now,” she said.

Gilmour’s on 38 Harrowsmith

For the most part, it has been business as usual at Gilmour’s, but it has been very busy. The store has been able to keep up with the demand for meat, and other grocery items. This week, they are starting up a delivery service to help those in isolation. Orders are being taken by phone to 613-449-2384. The service is free but they will be accepting donations with each delivery which will be passed to the food bank.

The store is open 8am-6pm daily, except Friday 8am-7pm, and Sunday 9am-4pm.

Trousdale’s Foodland – Sydenham

It has been a challenge for Trousdale’s to keep up with unprecedented demand and deal with extra sanitation protocols and social distancing, just like the other stores in the area. Trousdale’s has been delivering food orders to seniors in Sydenham, quietly, for years. Because of that, they were the first store in the area to expand their delivery when COVID-19 came along, and the demand has been increasing. Call the store for details, 613-376-6609.

Glenburnie Grocery – Glenburnie

As a family owned, community centred store, Glenburnie grocery has depended on it staff, customers and volunteers to keep up over the last couple of weeks.

“We’ve been adjusting to a new normal all the time,” said Courtney Rickards, who works with her husband Mark, who purchased the store from his father almost 20 years ago.

The store is opening from 10am-6pm every day now in order to give enough time to clean and allow staff to get some rest, and is also open from 9am-10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

It would have been impossible to set up delivery, even though there is a community need right now, but for a local business stepping up and offering. Heart to Heart Senior’s Services is handling the entire process, from ordering to delivery. They can be reached at 613-767-0820 or 613-453-7668 to make arrangements.

“That allows us to work on keeping the shelves stocks, and always being friendly with out customers, fro a distance now,” she said.