Manolo’s Bakery, a family-run business based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a community staple specializing in sweet and savory Hispanic-style baked goods. Their business came to a sudden halt last month when, like so many businesses in the foodservice industry, their community was quarantined and forced to self-isolate due to COVID-19.
Thanks to a new initiative from Sysco, however, Manolo’s Bakery was able to keep their business operations going by setting up a “Pop Up Shop” on-site.
What’s a Pop Up Shop? A corner store inside of a restaurant! Restaurant owners and operators designate space in their facility to provide a grocery store atmosphere to allow customers to shop for essential pantry items while getting their meal to-go. The concept provides essential items for community members and keeps business going.
This approach improved Manolo’s cash flow thanks to added customer traffic and enabled the bakery to keep their employees staffed.
“It was possible to create this under the Sysco Pop Up Shop program and maintain a good personal relationship with our clients by letting them know that during these hard times, Sysco is there to support them,” says Roberto Mendoza, Ethnic Segment Manager at Sysco Charlotte.
Sysco’s Pop Up Shop program is available to restaurants businesses nationwide.
“Sysco has plenty of inventory and products to help your customers meet the demands and needs that may not be available from their local grocery stores,” says Diego Rondon, Director of Multicultural Segments at Sysco. “Many retail stores are having trouble keeping pantry staples stocked, and Sysco can supply these items so you can offer them to your customers. Pop Up Shop products can vary by location but will include essential commodities such as eggs, milk, condiments, bread, toilet paper and other paper products. That can be a profitable way to navigate the current shift in foodservice operations and provide nourishment and a sense of reassurance in your communities.”
What You’ll Need: Most Hispanic restaurants have the basic components needed to start a temporary Pop Up Shop. According to Rondon, those components include floor space for dry goods; enough space to rearrange tables or push them to the side; a walk-in cooler and/or freezer space to store dairy and other products that need refrigeration; staff members to work the floor to make sure customers are maintaining social distancing guidelines; plus ordering and payment processing tools.
“We’re here to help Hispanic restaurants continue to generate revenue beyond what they’re currently able to make from standard takeout and delivery service, Diego Rondon says. “And we can provide restaurants with marketing and social media tools to help drive the message effectively to your customers.”
Want to know more about setting up your Pop Up Shop? Contact your local Sysco marketing associate, or click here (https://foodie.sysco.com/sysco-pop-up-shop/).