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“We want to assure you that as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, so are we,” DLM’s owners told their customers. “We appreciate your patience as we all get used to some of these new ways of shopping and interacting with one another while in the stores.”
The store’s new policies are “for the health and safety of our community and associates. We're all in this together, and we need your help,” the email said of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed 142 lives and 4,450 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state.
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Reached by this news outlet this morning, DLM President Calvin Mayne said the one-shopper-per-household limitation has been mentioned by Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine and by the Presidential task force. “It’s another measure that helps with social distancing,” Mayne said.
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“We’re not crazy about it, as many couples and families enjoy shopping together. We want to sell good food and give our customers the best shopping experience we can under these very unusual circumstances. We continue to follow recommendations from government agencies, for everyone’s health,” Mayne said.
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During busy times in the stores, including this weekend, DLM “will have staff at the doors to kindly enforce these limits,” Mayne said.
DLM officials suggested customers not wait until Saturday to pick up items for Easter Sunday dinner because of new state mandates regarding capacity and social distancing in retail stores. DLM stores are closed on Easter Sunday.
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On Thursday and Friday, April 9-10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., an “Outdoor Ham & Go Quick Service Station” will be set up outside of each store for customers to pick up the store’s “Heavenly Ham.” And for now, DLM’s delis will offer pre-packed items to allow for quicker service.
All three DLM stores are now open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with the first hour reserved for “our neighbors who are older or may have compromised immune systems,” DLM officials have said. “We know that everyone has different circumstances, so we are simply making a neighborly request.”
“We look forward to the day when this is all a memory,” DLM officials said.
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