Reasor’s To Keep One Store Open 24/7 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Other Stores’ Hours Change

Changes are coming to all Reasor's stores across northeastern Oklahoma.

The company is changing their store hours, starting Wednesday, to 7:00 a.m. 9:00 p.m. A special shopping hour will be available from 7:00 to 8:00 in the morning for the elderly, those with compromised immune systems and pregnant women.

The store at 15^th and Lewis will be the only location open 24/7. The company said that is because the store is close to hospitals and medical professionals who rely on the store at all hours.

One thing shoppers may notice when they first step inside, is signage encouraging them to keep six feet away from everyone. Reasor's uses the example of the length of two shopping carts equals six feet, to help shoppers put that in perspective.

As customers walked in Tuesday, they noticed plenty of bread on the shelves, but it comes with a limit.

The shelves are empty where toilet paper usually sits. All that's left for the moment at the 15^th and Lewis location is paper towels, with limits on paper products for customers.

"If you need toilet paper, buy toilet paper. But don't buy two,” Reasor’s President and CEO Jeff Reasor said.

Reasor said what shoppers are seeing at the grocery stores is a not a supply problem, but a pipeline problem.

The company said it receives products every day and there is no shortage of food at a national level.

Some customers are taking precautions by wearing either gloves or a mask or both.

All hourly employees will see a $2 per hour emergency bonus in their paychecks, effective retroactively from March 11 through most of April.

“They're a little closer to the consumer. They're a little closer to the grit and the grind out there. So we want to make sure we took care of them,” Reasor said.

The hours are cut back across the 16 other locations from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for two main reasons: so the shelves can get restocked and employees can keep things clean.

"It'll get back to normal if everybody will just kind of stay calm and go back to ordering what they need,” Reasor said.

Reasor's is also hiring displaced restaurant workers. Reasor said those employees would start out helping with online orders, and could work their way up to other jobs at the stores. He said he's not sure how many people the company will be hiring.