Cedar Market was honored by Progressive Grocer Magazine as one of 21 retailers nationwide that went above and beyond to safely and efficiently provide their customers with plentiful supplies “through countless uncertainties” during the pandemic.

“It was unexpected,” said David Bodner, operations manager. “We didn’t do any of this for honor but for the health and safety of our employees and customers.”

Cedar Market’s Yossi Hollander said, “Everyone here works very diligently to do the best possible job to satisfy customers. This was recognition of the effort made by each and every employee.”

Progressive Grocer reviewed how Cedar Market instituted the protocols that became a winning formula, including daily deep cleaning and sanitizing, an enforced 25-person limit at a time for in-person shopping and putting social distancing and sanitizing reminder signage in place. Most importantly, the magazine recognized that many people had to abruptly cancel travel plans for Passover, which meant they would be home and needing supplies: “Subsequently, the demand for deliveries exploded. Eighty to 90% of customers started submitting delivery orders rather than coming to the store in person, as they were quarantining.” Progressive Grocer explained how Cedar Market quickly instituted a system whereby customers submitted email shopping lists, helped by Cedar’s social media guides, and staffers raced to gather the orders. Good relationships with vendors helped Cedar Market keep the shelves stocked despite nationwide shortages.

One year later, with no end in sight, lessons learned have given Cedar Market the know-how to go into Passover 2021 more prepared and able to handle the surge. Hollander said that while getting daily supplies is still a little stressful, manufacturers and vendors are all on board. “We contacted our vendors early and secured products. We have a good grasp on what we need based on last year. Last year was chaotic. We’re hoping this year will be a little calmer. The products are stocked and the shelves were loaded last week. Pesach shopping is upon us and we’re open, ready and willing to serve the community for Pesach.”