GREENSBORO, N.C. — Local grocery stores are pleased to see customers coming in their doors to shop locally for what they need.
"We’ve had a lot of people who normally go to the bigger chain stores come here," said Bridget Vargas a supervisor at Bestway in Greensboro.
The shelves of bread and produce were empty Saturday afternoon. Vargas said the store has been really busy and they're doing their best to keep up with stocking the shelves.
"We’re kind of expecting to see stuff fly off the shelves pretty quickly. We’ve had a lot of phone calls of people asking if they have things in stock," Vargas said.
Vargas said the hottest items are hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and chicken.
In Downtown Greensboro at Deep Roots Market, General Manager Nicole Villano said sales are 50 percent higher than normal.
"Luckily we have a lot of local vendors so we're able to get product pretty quickly," Villano said.
She said customers keep calling about elderberries, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer.
"We have been getting toilet paper just not enough to satisfy everyone," Villano said.
Villano said looking ahead, the store is planning to start a volunteer-based service for groceries.
"We're putting together a volunteer-based grocery pick up program that would eventually turn into a delivery program volunteer base," she said.
But right now, she said her main focus is making sure her staff is healthy.
"My focus right now is taking care of my staff because they’re working a lot of extra hours and it’s a lot of extra hard work and they need rest and (to) hydrate and avoid sugar," she said.
She also wants people to remember when they're out and about, to be kind.
"We’ve had some really unkind folks in here and it makes us all feel terrible because we’re doing everything we can to satisfy everyone’s needs. Kindness matters," she said.