Charlotte County Florida Weekly

The pandemic bump

Demand for products and services such as alcohol, garden supplies, private flights and food delivery spiked during the season of the virus



In the last two months alone, Bite Squad added more local eateries to its platform from many independent neighborhood restaurants, as well as several well-known chains, with an increase of 19% over this quarter of last year.

In the last two months alone, Bite Squad added more local eateries to its platform from many independent neighborhood restaurants, as well as several well-known chains, with an increase of 19% over this quarter of last year.

As unprecedented actions to slow the spread of Covid-19 took effect, some businesses saw a sharp uptick in sales as a result.

A recent Florida Weekly story detailed how bicycle shops have seen a surge of customers, though that wave has touched a broader range of businesses.

“Since this whole thing started we’ve gone from zero to 60,” said Vince Molnar, owner of Riverland Nursery in Fort Myers. “We are several percentage points above where we were last year, and last year we were busy.”

Along with garden centers, business for food delivery and takeout has swelled — though for some restaurants that usually has depended on sit-down service, which has amounted to peanuts. Imbibing also has become more popular than ever, with the internet full of cocktail suggestions, such as the “Quarantini,” a regular martini served during quarantine. Home cooking, such as grilling out and making bread — with social media posts helping fuel the fire — also led to a sales surge at some grocery stores.

Jeff Lingelbach has been the managing partner of the Palm Beach Gardens Ace Hardware for almost 30 years, and has seen total sales “up a little bit.” COURTESY PHOTO

Jeff Lingelbach has been the managing partner of the Palm Beach Gardens Ace Hardware for almost 30 years, and has seen total sales “up a little bit.” COURTESY PHOTO

Mr. Molnar said he was forced to close for about a week in March, but since then has been inundated with customers “old and new.” The nursery’s 10-acre property allows for social distancing, and offers a place to get out of the house for some fresh air.

“We’ve been grateful for the support,” Mr. Molnar said. “… It’s just the sheer volume of plant material we’ve sold has been incredible. I’m actually placing the largest order of plant material I’ve ever placed in our business to replenish us. They’re coming in three big truckloads from Miami this weekend (May 16 and 17). I walk around, I’m like, ‘There are no plants.’”

Hardware stores, like plant nurseries, also offer plenty of materials that people use at home.

“We’re doing better than most and probably not as good as some,” said Joe Lingelbach, managing partner of Palm Beach Gardens Ace Hardware. “Ace Hardware is considered an essential business. Not only do we sell protective things like masks and gloves and disinfectants, but toilets, electrical and plumbing (supplies). So during the shutdown, if you have issues with your home, you still need to be able to get them fixed. So I think that’s why we are doing better than most.

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits has been busy during all of this. Sales are up. COURTESY PHOTO

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits has been busy during all of this. Sales are up. COURTESY PHOTO

“Areas that we’ve seen the biggest increase actually is in our paint department. It seems like a lot of people who shelter in place want to paint. And Ace is the perfect store for people doing repairs.”

Too, the Palm Beach Gardens Ace has been selling out of plexiglass for business owners making safety panels for cashiers, and the barbecue accessories section also is doing brisk business.

Overall transactions were down over the last several months for this Ace store, but total sales are up “a little bit” in spite of reduced staff and hours.

“We’re looking forward,” Mr. Lingelbach said. “Of course we have hurricane season coming up, and a lot of people will want to be preparing themselves for that. With the coronavirus, we’re still wishing everybody who walks in the store will wear masks.”

Stores deemed essential by state or county governments began to see a rise in customers after Florida began slowing and shuttering many businesses starting in the middle of March. That has, not without some controversy, included liquor stores.

“We actually started to see the increase I would say the second week of March, when we started looking at numbers that were definitely out of the ordinary,” said Sean Kelly, chief marketing officer of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, a family-owned Florida company that operates 126 stores across the state.

On St. Patrick’s Day, that accelerated even more as people responded to orders to stay home from bars and reduce occupancy in restaurants.

“So we saw an immediate spike in sales then and that has really not slowed up since,” Mr. Kelly said. “It’s also gone up every time over the last two months where the news of the day feels more urgent or puts people in a place where they think, ‘I may have to stay at home a lot longer.’”

“Pantry shopping” surged with customers stocking up on more or larger bottles of alcoholic beverages than they usually would. ABC sales are “up by a considerable amount” between mid- March and mid-May, even with reduced staff in stores. ABCs efforts to keep surfaces such as baskets and bottles cleaned, encourage social distancing, and the staff rule that requires face masks and other measures have also helped bring in new customers, Mr. Kelly believes, because they feel safe going in the stores.

But not every ABC store has seen increased sales. Some of those near theme parks, beaches and typically touristy areas hit hard by the lockdown have seen a decline in sales. Mr. Kelly said that ABC management has, for two months, had a daily meeting to address how to move forward during the pandemic.

“We’re expecting the sales will stay high and we will see this kind of guest activity for the next couple of months,” he said. “We think it will level off a little bit but we just don’t know what to expect in the fall.

“We’re taking it as it comes and we’re very in tune with what the government is saying on a daily basis, what health officials are doing on a daily basis.”

Along with drinking and gardening, booking private jets has also become more popular, at least among those with means. At Punta Gorda-based Air Trek Inc., which operates seven jets, the company’s private charter business has increased, although its air ambulance service is down.

“We’ve seen a lot of people,” said Air Trek owner and pilot Dana Carr. “A lot of new customers who have never chartered a private jet before are finding they’re much more comfortable in a private flight situation than flying on the airlines.

“And, of course, a lot of them have related questions as to sanitation, security, things to that nature. We’ve been able to adequately meet their demand and hopefully gained a lot of future customers as well, repeat customers.”

While some charters to tourist destinations were canceled, such as those to Key West and the Bahamas, people booked longer flights for travel to places such as the Midwest United States and Canada.

“And, of course, being a longer flight, they’re higher in revenue-generating than a short flight down to the keys,” Mr. Carr said.

Air ambulance flights were down from last year because the company typically flies patients from Florida to rehabilitation centers up north. Since there was a shortage of tests available, the rehab centers temporarily stopped accepting patients from Florida.

In terms of overall revenue, this year has been a “mixed bag,” Mr. Carr said, with overall business roughly on track for a normal year.

Looking forward, Mr. Carr is hoping vacation charters will come back strong.

“A lot of our charter customers have expressed a lot of interest in going as soon as the travel bans are lifted,” he said. “Especially on the luxury travel side of it, I think there’s huge pent-up demand.”

Grocery stores, another essential business, also have seen increased demand. At Wynn’s Market in Naples, officer Jeff Wynn said that while the overall customer count has been down, individual grocery bills spiked as people stocked their pantries. The pandemic has also lifted the sales of specific products such as chicken and yeast.

“We cannot keep yeast on the shelf at our store,” Mr. Wynn said. “You can only buy one thing of yeast right now because everyone’s baking at home.”

Historically, Wynn’s deli has been popular, but during the last few months without the regular lunch crowd, the meat and produce departments have seen more business.

“Those foods that people are wanting to cook at home have become the major departments at this point in time,” Mr. Wynn said.

The store remains “highly proactive” in terms of health and safety such as masks for employees and paying for additional cleaning services. While some customers have questioned the practice, the response to Wynn’s safety measures has mostly been positive, Mr. Wynn said.

“We’ve had customers say to our managers down on the floor, ‘Why are you doing this? You’re overreacting.’ And what we’ve told our managers and employees, we have these masks on for your protection and our protection. But we have a lot more positive responses. And most of all people feel safe seeing that. Our take on that is we can never overact when it comes to the safety of our customers and the safety of our employees as well.”

Food delivery and take-out services have become one of the defining aspects of pandemic life, but for many local restaurants that usually offer fine dining, that’s crumbs compared to normal business.

“I think we didn’t do that bad,” said Klaus Bokelmann, manager of Black Forest Restaurant in Naples. “For a restaurant that doesn’t specialize in takeouts, we did pretty well, I’d say.”

“Since people have been locked up so long, there is a strong urge to go out,” he said in mid-May. “Business is up and I believe this is going to continue over the next few weeks. But I believe after that it’s going to be a struggle.”

The publicly traded technology-based company Bite Squad, an app that offers on-demand food ordering, announced an expansion in the Fort Myers and Naples area.

“In the last two months alone, (it) added more and more local eateries to its platform from many independent neighborhood restaurants, as well as several well-known chains,” a May news release read. “In total, Bite Squad now has more than 320 Fort Myers and Naples partners from which to choose.”

Across the United States, the company experienced a decrease in overall orders in mid-March, but reported that orders “rebounded” near the end of March and continued to grow in April. Average daily orders for the first quarter of 2020 were 37,576. Average daily orders for April 2020 were approximately 44,700, a 19% increase over first quarter 2020.

According to research on U.S. Census data by Quartz (www.qz.com), retail spending in many categories of businesses was hit hard, as expected. That includes clothing, auto parts, food and drinking establishments, furniture, electronics and sporting goods.

But the category of food and beverage stores overall rose 26% in the United States in March compared to last year. Internet commerce was up 6%. Building materials and garden equipment and supply stores saw a 10% rise. And health and personal care stores were up 6%. ¦

One response to “The pandemic bump”

  1. Mary Gail Phillips says:

    I so look forward to your publication each week.

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