BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – A positive mood is increasing among some grocery shoppers as society begins to adjust to life in the coronavirus era.
"I think it's going to get better in time because if it wasn't I think it would've been the same when we came here last week," one woman shopping at the Tops on Walden Avenue said. "I think people are really getting the idea of staying home and only coming out when necessary. I think it's only going to get better."
Most people have still been unable to get one supply that, for some reason, is seen as vital in the pandemic: Toilet paper.
"They had toilet paper because I just bought some," one man shopping at the same location said. "In the past there wasn't any at all."
While their company is not a distributor to the major grocery stores in the area, they do supply foods to various corner stores, restaurants, schools, casinos, and hotels. They've run into a major problem: many of their clients have shuttered their doors because of the pandemic.
Tarantino said their business dropped about 30 percent during the first week of the pandemic. After last week's announcement that mandated a limited workforce, Tarantino said they saw their business plummet by upwards of 80 percent.
"As the week went on, we're up to 90-95 percent of our restaurant customers have closed or curtailed their business or tried to survive by going to take out," he said. "We're doing marginal business with them. We are very much in trouble with our volume."
He said they are trying to recoup costs by boxing food and selling it to the public, especially their vegetables and fruits that have an expiration date. Tarantino said they are selling some of their supplies on Tuesday.
"We also gave away some food to some restaurants that were preparing and gave it away and we further gave (St. Luke's Mission) a donation of a number of cases to give to their clientele," Tarantino said.
But after Tuesday, huge questions remain because they haven't purchased any product for businesses due to their closures.
"Bananas, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, some of those things are going to be very hard and scarce to come by," he said.
They've been able to preserve their 75 full-time positions though Tarantino acknowledged there have been layoffs of some night shift workers. They've also had to shift around days and hours of operations.
He said they're hopeful that business can pick up again but said the focus should get society to return to normal.
