Local grocery stores are taking precautions amid COVID-19 outbreak.

With concerns rising over the spread of germs, grocery stores are taking notice and working to provide customers with clean facilities and equipment to shop.

Save A Lot, located on Brookway Boulevard, is offering sanitizing products at the front door in order to clean cart handles.

Registers are sectioned off and signs and floor tape are displayed to keep customers at a safe distance apart. Employees are also wearing masks and gloves.

The store has also designated a shopping time for the elderly and disabled from 7 to 8 a.m. each day. Other than that, Save A Lot is operating as usual.

“We are still open and our hours are still the same,” assistant manager Tammy Brown said.

The store had been having trouble receiving shipments on staples such as bread and flour and was forced to limit the amount of items to customers. As of now, Save A Lot is able to receive products.

“We’ve gone with different vendors in order to get items in the store for everybody,” Brown said.

Sullivan’s Grocery, located on Hwy. 51 North, is open to the public as well. Employees are monitoring the amount of people entering the store and may lock the doors in order to keep the number at what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

The store will also be providing their employees with masks once they are received at the home office, and plexiglass dividers will be installed soon at the check stands.

Employees were also given raises, with hourly employees receiving $2 more an hour and salary employees receiving a bonus of $100 a week.

“Sullivan’s Grocery is working hard to stay in stock and serve the customers of Brookhaven as safely as possible during these unprecedented times and thank everyone for their patience and understanding,” co-owner Parker Sullivan said.

 

Story by Gracie Byrne