GREEN RIVER — When residents asked for help, a Green River business owner didn’t think twice about fulfilling those requests.
Staci Martin, owner of Staci Ann’s Cafe, starting buying items for residents when she saw a need.
Martin said when her restaurant was no longer available to serve dine-in customers anymore due to COVID-19 Coronavirus recommendations, residents began asking her if she could order products for them because they could no longer find them in the stores.
After checking with her distributors to see if it was alright to sell products as retail items, Martin decided to start offering that service to residents.
People first asked for toilet paper, paper towels, flour, milk, butter, yeast, and sugar. However, as it progressed she started selling more items everyone needed including canned items, meat, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, disinfectant products, bleach and “all those things that seemed to have been flying out of stores,” Martin said.
Martin says many residents have been concerned about the number of people physically touching the products in the grocery stores before buying them and bringing them home.
“We decided this was a better option for those with health issues or the elderly,” she said. “It’s going straight to a warehouse to us and only we are handling that item. It’s eliminating a lot of possible contaminates along the way.”
Martin said residents either call in an order, or they request one her Facebook page.
“We get our deliveries two to three times a week, depending on how big of an order we have,” Martin said.
When residents come to pick up their order, they can either drive up to the window or Martin will bring it out to their car. She said this has been a way for her staff to supplement their time in between, takeouts, deliveries, and drive-ups.
Over the last month, about 60 residents per week have placed orders. She said it’s a lot of work taking the orders, filling those orders, putting them together, and handing them out.
“I think a lot of people are learning how to stock up now. A lot of your older crowd was used to the days where you kept staples and you had dried goods of flour and sugar, and you were prepared to make things from home,” she said.
Many people are just now learning how to stock up and be prepared, Martin said.
“The newer generations don’t know how to cook. They’re so used to going out to eat or going to drive throughs, they never really had to stay home and cook,” Martin said. “It’s kind of been a wake up call for a lot of people.”
Martin knows she’s providing a needed service, but the best part is how much residents appreciate it. Some have even baked her bread or cookies to thank her. She said it’s nice to see neighbors helping each other.
“I’m just glad that we were here and able to do it and help,” Martin said.
Martin is also offering box lunches for essential workers such as doctors, nurses, firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, EMTs, and other medical personnel.
“We can’t all be on the front lines but, we can certainly support those who are,” she said.
She said anyone can order a boxed-lunch meal and Staci Ann’s Cafe will deliver it. Martin is hopeful her programs will not only keep her staff busy, but get them through the downturn in the economy.
