Niwot Market owners prepared for COVID surge

Back in March, streaks of panic buying due to COVID-19 left stores barren of cleaning supplies, bathroom essentials and canned foods. Niwot Market owners were forced to limit purchases of certain items to one or two per person. The supply chain slowed down as big vendors shifted to the bigger markets, leaving owners Alison Steele and Bert Steele to look towards quickly developing new relationships with smaller vendors.

However, the Steeles are confident now that they have the resources necessary to sustain any further panic buying should shutdowns go back into effect.

"The issue wasn't that there was a shortage of food, but actually a shortage of packaging, which slowed down the whole supply chain," Bert said. "Coke actually had to discontinue certain flavors in order to accommodate the shortage of bottles. We had one of the best garden seasons ever, but no canning jars to store the produce in."

The issue with packaging left larger vendors to choose between helping small businesses or supplying the bigger chains like Whole Foods which left local market baskets across the country struggling to get the supplies they needed.

"We've switched over almost entirely to small vendors that have been there for us since the beginning of this pandemic," Alison said. "And now, I can actually order pallets of canned goods or toilet paper which we never could have done with larger vendors."

Alison made it clear that should large orders need to be placed due to shutdowns, the smaller vendors will absolutely deliver. Smaller businesses like Niwot Market are prioritized the least by big business during times such as these. The chain markets receive higher quality and quantity of supplies than local markets receive from larger vendors. That's why Bert is very pleased to be working now with the smaller and more local vendors.

"The little vendors give us way higher quality produce than the big guys," said Bert. "We can buy in bulk, and it doesn't raise the cost of anything for our customers. It also opens our market up for more business and more suppliers should any of them be shorthanded during another shutdown."

Many people have turned to shopping at local markets as the fear of going to larger stores increases with the number of new cases. Bert cited his gratitude for the people of Niwot continuing to shop locally which is what's saving small businesses.

Cleaning supplies are still difficult to come by despite the increase in business, as large chains are the priority at this time. Disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray from name brands are hard to come by. Countering that are companies such as Boulder Clean, a Colorado based company that's supplying cleaning products to local markets. However, certain cleaning supplies in the market are still only allowed to be purchased two at a time.

"With the shortage, it's just how it has to be for a while," Alison said.

The panic buying that happened in March doesn't appear to be present in Niwot. Shoppers moving throughout the market are patient, compliant with all of the rules, and courteous to others. Curbside pickup became available in the springtime which shoppers took advantage of until the summer months.

"We've seen an increase in curbside pickups from this summer but that's truthfully the only indication that talks of increasing cases are having an effect on anyone," Alison said. "We're just happy to still be doing well since there are a lot of other small businesses that haven't recovered from this."

Bert affirmed that since they have the resources necessary, they aren't concerned about another shutdown.

"No one has to worry, with the increase in smaller vendors and our ability to buy in bulk, there's no reason to expect shortages," Bert said. "The people of Niwot have been great throughout this time, and everyone appears calm and confident from what I've seen, and I'd like to thank them for their patience and composure throughout all of this."