All of us are beginning to feel the “rock-bottom” reality of a virus that has strangled every country in the world. It feels overwhelming.
My morning process is simple: I worry about my husband, my kids, my friends, and then I think about my fellow Waynesville merchants, and how we have been thrown into a holding pattern we didn’t expect, plan for, or even understand!
All of our fun events are now on hold. Our momentum was just beginning to build from the cold of winter into the lovely days of spring. Spring will pass, and then it will be the panic of summer. Hopefully!
I was visited last week by a dear friend; a fellow merchant, and a hardworking man who grew up in Waynesville and raising his family there. He purchased the local grocery store in town, Hometown Market, after working there since he was sixteen and has been serving the area for many years. He has recently refurbished this store, planned out a dedicated sitting area for workers in town that need a place to sit for lunchtime meals that he prepares in the deli area. He serves a variety of breakfast items as well as a balanced assortment of prepared foods for lunch and dinner. It is oh so handy to swing by for a takeout of their homemade soups on the days when I leave the gallery late (and hate to cook after an hour drive home.)
He always seems to look ahead for what people need and how he can better serve their needs, making everyone’s life just a little easier. Oh, how I do love that about the Hometown Market! I know that as a small grocer, he and his staff have worked very hard to have shelves filled and the store operating as usual. But these times are not normal times at all! Like every business today, they are having to reinvent how they do day to day business and often have had to search out new suppliers because their regular suppliers are sold out. Ron goes above and beyond by picking up the products they need himself when supplier delivery is overwhelmed.He never wants his customers to wait longer than they need to. I can’t even imagine the new nightmare of incorporating different brands into inventory, different pricing, different scans, and then getting all these issues solved promptly while his customers line up outside in hopes of finding food.
I know how frustrating it has been when we are trying to find things we need on the shelves and encounter empty shelves. It is surreal to walk down the aisles and see maybe one box of macaroni and cheese and then nothing!
Grocery workers have to be some of the hardest working people right now. They have taken the challenge and are carrying the weight for all so we have food. Give your grocery workers a big “Thank You” the next time you visit and on your next trip to Waynesville, stop by Hometown Marketplace and let Ron and his staff know you heard what great community supporters they are; then take home a soup of the day carry out!
Despite very long hours and even less sleep, Ron made a special trip to our gallery last week to pick up more of our fundraising History Card sets to sell in his store for the Waynesville Merchants Association. Hometown Market has consistently been our number one history card seller! Ron shrugs it off by telling me how important it is to
support one another; small business is the backbone of our country! Thank you, Ron, for always thinking about your fellow Waynesville merchants, your customers, and our community. Thank you for supporting all the merchants in your town, and for just being a great person to have in our corner—jolly and all smiles in the good times and so very supportive and helpful in times like these! Let’s all remember that supporting small businesses all over is key to keeping America healthy!
