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The Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Manteo has made some adjustments to better serve their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 1, Piggly Wiggly announced via their Facebook page that normal operating hours would shift, closing the store an hour earlier than normal to allow for more cleaning time.

“We’re trying to sanitize everything we can actually see,” store manager Jimmy Hopkins said. “We’re cleaning 24/7,” he added.

Hopkins mentioned that many of his employees have also been wearing masks to protect their customers’ health. To help, a local seamstress and her husband delivered handmade masks for staff to wear.

To help eliminate the spread wherever possible, Piggly Wiggly has asked customers to pay with a debit or credit card in place of cash. They have also placed tape on the floor to help promote social distancing and having customers stay 6 feet apart.

Talia Sellers, a cashier at Piggly Wiggly, said staff members will spend at least an hour cleaning shopping carts and registers. She also noted that all employees are now wearing gloves to help stop the spread of germs.

Use of reusable bags has been suspended until further notice at Piggly Wiggly. Staff members have asked that, if possible, only one member of a household shop in store at a time.

Hopkins said overall feedback from customers has been good. Hopkins said the only negative things they’ve heard relate to pricing on some items, such as an increase in the price of eggs.

For now, Hopkins said his staff will continue to promote cleanliness and safety. They do not plan on making any further adjustments. “I don’t know what more we could do,” he said.

While Hopkins and his team were thinking about a possible delivery/pickup system, he said right now, that’s not feasible. “We’re doing all we can do to keep our heads above water now,” he noted.

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