Prepared for Change
By Pat Burns, General Manager
You might remember an earlier article where I noted that the recent updates we made to add more registers and widen the checkout lanes were directly tied to the planned changes in our Prepared Foods department. Now that September is upon us, we will start work on a two-phase project that will make our Prepared Foods Department more customer and employee-friendly.
I appreciate the patience our customers have shown these past few months as we finalize the layout and equipment needed to complete the project. We understand that the layout of the department hasn’t been ideal during this transition time.
We have four objectives for this two-phase project:
1) For staff: Improve the layout and efficiency of the work space.
2) For customers: Redesign the layout to reduce congestion in the department, create a more comfortable shopping experience and provide better access to products.
3) For vendors: Improve displays to help promote sales for our many local vendors.
4) For the environment: Replace older, less efficient equipment with newer energy-saving models.
The first phase of this project will begin on Monday, September 9 by the Sandwich, Cheese and Deli areas. This phase should last no more than 3 days, but we anticipate having limited sliced meat, deli and cheese selections on Wednesday, September 11. These changes will also shift the location of our sandwich counter, but should not affect sandwich service.
The bigger and more complex part of the work is scheduled to begin around Monday, September 23and last for 5 to 6 days. This work will encompass the Hot and Cold bar, Grab & Go case, Coffee area and new Bread displays for the artisanal breads.
As usual, we’ll do our best to minimize the impact on our customers, vendors and staff. During the first phase, there may be some service limitations on one day. During the second phase of this project, certain parts of the kitchen will need to be shut down. As we add the new walk-in refrigerator there could be up to four days when we are not producing food for the hot and cold bar. We will minimize the number of days the kitchen is closed and will look for alternative ways to display products that will meet the needs of our customers who routinely dine with us at City Market.
This will mark the first time that any of our larger improvement projects will impact product availability for our customers. The short-term inconvenience of this will be offset by the benefits of easier access in the department, a better shopping experience and greater work efficiencies. Recently we’ve received lots of customer kudos for the great food that our Prepared Foods Department creates. These updates will continue to allow our talented staff to continue to focus on newer and more creative product offerings for everyone.
I apologize in advance for the inconvenience and I hope that you will agree that the long-term benefits of the finished project will far outweigh these inconveniences. We’ll have signs before and during these projects to share updated news on the timeline, what’s changing and what’s available. If you have any questions, please ask any one of our staff for assistance and let us know what you think!
Thanks for your patronage,
Pat