Convenience change

Essential business is not business as usual.

It’s a new reality, and area convenience stores are doing their best to adjust.

“Up until the announcement (of the stay-at-home order), we were pretty much functioning as usual,” Pak-A-Sak chief executive officer Ron Freeman said Tuesday.

Gov. Eric Holcomb’s announcement Monday changed all that.

Pak-A-Sak is significantly reducing its hours. Nearly all of its stores in Indiana and Ohio had been open on a 24-hour basis. But that’s now changed to a 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule, Freeman said.

The change, he noted, reflects the business reality that traffic falls off significantly in the evening but also reinforces the governor’s directive for Hoosiers to stay at home.

Circle K, which has two locations in Portland, will continue to be open 24 hours a day.

“At least for now,” staff at Circle K North said.

The same holds true for Village Pantry in Portland.

“As of now, we haven’t changed hours,” said Stephanie Matthews-Hicks, manager at Miller’s Dunkirk Pantry. The Dunkirk store continues to be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

But that could change at any time.

The emphasis now is on cleaning to help prevent the spread of the virus.

“It’s something we’ve always done, but now more than ever,” the Miller’s employee said.

“Obviously we’ve stepped that up a great deal,” said Freeman. “We are doing the best we possibly can to keep our stores as clean as possible.”

Pak-A-Sak employees are cleaning the handles of gasoline pumps “as they are able,” Freeman said. But he urged customers to use hand sanitizer after they’ve pumped gas.

“Cleanliness is key to health and safety,” Circle K chief executive officer Brian Hannasch said. “That includes anywhere your hands may go from surfaces, screens, pumps, restrooms and more.”

At Circle K in Portland, that means sanitizing after every customer and washing your hands after every fifth customer. A similar regimen is in place at Village Pantry.

Miller’s in Dunkirk wipes down gas pump handles with bleach or disinfectant as time allows.

“Inside, it’s everything,” Matthews-Hicks said. “We’ve been lucky enough to score” a supply of disinfectant products.

Freeman said that based upon advice from the National Association of Convenience Stores, Pak-A-Sak employees won’t be wearing gloves. “We believe they can keep themselves and everything else protected by washing their hands frequently and cleaning surfaces,” he said.