Mar 10, 2020 3 min read

The coronavirus has grocery owners and operators feeling snowed under in a sense. As contagion from the virulent virus continues to snowball across the globe, some area consumers are reacting as if seven inches of the white stuff has been forecast.

Sanitation is the buzzword, and customers are storming stores, seeking hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial supplies, bottled water, toilet tissue and other items they deem necessary for a possible two-week siege indoors.

Fourteen days in quarantine is standard for those infected.

“Panic buying,” arguably, is the appropriate term, and it is leaving some locations without – or seriously short of – certain high-demand products.

This is not an acute issue locally, according to Southwestern Pennsylvania merchants contacted for this story. But like coronavirus, it is a growing challenge for small independents as well as large grocery chains – like Giant Eagle and Shop ‘n Save – and big-box department stores – like Walmart and Sam’s Club.

“We can’t carry larger quantities like larger stores, but we are out of Clorox and have been told the supplier won’t carry it for a while,” said Peggy Cox, who owns Cox Market in Carroll Township with her husband, Steve.

“We don’t carry much hand sanitizer, but we don’t have any,” she said Monday morning. “Some (24-pack) cases of water came in today. The supplier said there isn’t a shortage of that. But they may be gone soon.”

Greg Pettit, manager of Interstate Foodland in North Franklin Township, said Monday his store is out of hand sanitizer.

“We don’t carry tons, but we don’t have any and it’s out of stock,” he said.

He said a nephew, living in California, told him consumers in the Golden State are purchasing hand sanitizer “by cases.”

Pettit added his store, along Route 40, has limited amounts of Clorox wipes and antibacterial supplies. Don’t ask about the traditional “emergency run” on toilet tissue.

“I’ve been doing this for 40 years and that one makes me laugh,” he said.

Panic buying isn’t much of an issue at Kauffman Family Marketplace in northwestern Washington County.

“We sell mostly food and people aren’t going crazy over that,” said Erica Lappa, retail manager of the Smith Township grocery. “I can’t say that we’ve noticed anything picking up a lot the last couple of weeks.”

Another grocer, outside Washington, said the virus hasn’t had an impact on that store.

O’Hara Township-based Giant Eagle, which has six Washington County stores, pledges to be proactive during the outbreak.

“As the circumstances surrounding the spread of COVID-19 continue to evolve, we’re working diligently to help keep our communities healthy,” Giant Eagle spokesman Dick Roberts said in a statement.

“While availability of items like hand sanitizers are limited due to extremely high demand, we are working very closely with our supply partners to keep our stores well-stocked with a variety of health, wellness and sanitizing products.”

The company went on to urge customers to be judicious in the number of items they purchase.