As store manager for Sharp’s Market and Deli in Weston, Joyce Burch’s duties are many, but during the COVID-19 pandemic the most challenging part of her job has been keeping the shelves stocked.

She orders products, stocks shelves, does scheduling, hires employees, prepares monthly statements, consults with sales reps for new items, while working with the store’s owner, Doug Sharp, to keep everything up-to-date.

“Our warehouse sends me a daily allocation report of what is available and how many of certain products we can order,” Burch said. “Paper products, of course, are still an issue. We get more now that we could 10 or 12 weeks ago, but there is a limit and only certain brands are available.”

For now only the Puffs tissue brand is available for Sharp’s. Burch said sometimes the Kleenex brand is available and it’s the same with toilet paper and paper towels.

“We cannot get every brand name and some of the store brands are not available at this time,” Burch said. “There are items that the manufacturers are not making right now.”

For about 10 weeks there were no paper napkins available to order.

Sharp’s employees have all pulled together to help customers and they are happy to sack and carry groceries to customers’ cars.

“I am proud of each one of them for the way they have stepped up and taken on more hours and more responsibilities to keep the store stocked, cleaned and disinfected,” Burch said.

She said for the most part the store’s customers are very cautious and keep to social distancing guidelines. Many customers wear masks.

Sharp left it up to each employee to choose if they wanted to wear a mask or take some time off when the virus began. Although Burch wasn’t worried about her own safety, some employees took off a few weeks, but gradually came back.

“They were getting bored being home and missed working and being with the customers,” Burch said. “I do insist that the employees wear gloves and change them frequently. We use a lot of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes when they are available. Disinfecting wipes have been one of the most difficult items to find.”

The store uses protective screens at each of the registers. While Burch chooses not to wear a mask, she is more concerned about the virus on surfaces.

She believes that everyone should be cautious and prepared.

“We are pretty fortunate here in Weston to have our customers stay pretty close to home during this pandemic,” Burch said. “One customer told me she didn’t venture outside of Weston except on a need-to basis because she didn’t want to be the one to bring the virus back to Weston.”

One of the most surprising things for Burch was that during the first six to eight weeks Sharp’s saw customers frequenting the store from Dearborn and Leavenworth.

“They were thinking that since we are a small store we would probably have things that other stores didn’t have, but we were all in the same boat,” Burch said. “It was nice to see new faces and get to know new customers, some of which still continue to come in.”

For Burch, the best part of her job is being able to work for the Sharps because they listen to her ideas and support her

The relationships with customers are also rewarding for employees.

“We laugh and cry and share jokes and stories with them which eases our stress,” Burch said.

While the virus has created some overwhelming challenges, Burch believes the store’s employees and customers have to carry on.

“There is only so much we can do to keep ourselves and our customers protected,” Burch said. “I am a Christian as are many of our employees and the owner, so we do a lot of praying and that gets us through the difficult times.”

She said if someone were to ask her family members about what they thought of her continuing to work through the virus they would say, “Yes, she is still working, she went through chemo three years ago and worked all the time throughout it, so some virus isn’t going to keep her at home.”

Since she loves road trips she is looking forward to getting to her family-owned cabin in Colorado as soon as it is possible and safe.

“This pandemic will end,” she said. “We need to stay the course and be there to support each other.”