Drive-thru convenience, neighbourhood touch at Gander corner store
Kelly's Corner Store has opened up a drive-thru window
In Gander, you can pick up your milk, beer, bread and lotto tickets — all without leaving your car.
A corner store in Gander has opened up a drive-thru window to help its customers and staff stay physically distant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anne Kelly, the owner of Kelly's Corner Store, said the drive-thru window has always been there, and she opened it up to her customers April 1 to help fight the spread of the disease.
"Basically everything that is in the store can be sold out of the store," she told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.
Kelly said town council has given her a permit to operate the drive-thru until June 30.
Her business has also taken several measures on the inside of the store: installing glass protection for the workers, and limiting customers to two at a time. She's even handling the debit machines herself, and offering customers cotton swabs to press the buttons.
The drive-thru, however, has proved popular.
"It's hard to determine if it's anymore busier, because some of the customers that had come through the store are now taking advantage of the drive-thru," she said. "But I am seeing new customers, which is fabulous."
Kelly said she's heard some particular feedback from customers who were scared to go into any store to buy what they needed, but now feel comfortable using her new drive-thru.
"So little stories that you hear of those, it makes all the work feel good," she said. "It's nice to see the community support, as this has happened. And to be able to provide something different to customers."
The drive-thru option is diverting some customers from going into the store — which means less stress about physical contact between employees and customers, and among the customers themselves.
"Out of all this that was actually the biggest challenge, to get people to follow the lines and stay within their zones," Kelly said.
Essential work for the community
Kelly said she's having a hard time imagining herself as an essential worker, even if she does stay open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said the prohibition on selling scratch and break-open lotto tickets has taken a toll on her business, as they were a very popular product.
Despite the challenges and stresses of operating, she's dedicated herself to finding a way to stay open.
"In a small store like this, you just, you become attached to your customers. I do anyways. I look forward to seeing them. And here, I had a mixture of a lot of elderly and young, so you hear their worries and their concerns," she said.
"So you gotta try your best. Plus, when you put so many hours into it … it's hard to just let it go by the wayside."
With files from CBC Newfoundland Morning