MORAINE, Ohio (WDTN) – After the governor announced his order closing bars and restaurants Sunday, some shoppers flocked to local grocery stores again to stock up on food and supplies. But state officials are still urging people to support local restaurants.
At a Kroger store in Moraine Sunday, some shoppers stuck with a typical week’s worth of groceries, while others stuffed their shopping carts and crammed their cars with groceries.
“My kids keep saying there’s nothing in the store, and I’m like, ‘Ok, maybe I better get out there before there is nothing in the store,'” said Elizabeth Kronk, a shopper.
“It was a little chaotic,” said David Ziemba, another shopper. “But I’ll tell you what – everybody was very nice, nobody was out of line. There was many, many ‘excuse me’s,’ ‘pardon me’s,’ ‘thank you’s.'”
Ziemba and Julie Ogletree bought $750 worth of groceries Sunday. But they were not all for their family of six.
Ogletree owns Miami Valley Sports Bar in West Carrollton and told 2 NEWS a lot of the food they bought is for her 13 employees.
“They’re my family,” Ogletree said. “They’re my family. They take care of me, and we take care of each other.”
While the bar is closed to customers, Ogletree said, she will pay her employees as long as she can as they work to clean the business and make other improvements.
With some eateries staying open to fill carryout and delivery orders, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted encourages people to continue supporting local restaurants.
“We don’t want everybody to stop buying restaurant food and start going to the grocery store,” Husted said at a news conference Sunday. “That will create problems of its own.”
Despite the uncertainty many businesses face, Ogletree told 2 NEWS she remains optimistic about the future.
“We have an amazing clientele that come in and see us,” Ogletree said. “And we’ll miss them as much as they miss us.”
Starting Monday, Kroger will reduce its hours to allow employees to clean the stores and restock the shelves. They will be open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to officials.
