$harp $hopper in Waynesboro — Mask check and observation

WAYNESBORO — The unconventional $harp $hopper grocery outlet, popular with many people on a budget, was worth a recent visit to see how it had adjusted to the pandemic.

It would be another opportunity to see what is happening with grocery shopping outside the mostly diligent approach from Martin's or Aldi and the anything-goes vibe inside Walmart or some Krogers.

Are there stores and businesses doing creative, helpful things? Are there places where customer behavior hasn't caught up with the best practices? Email us at localnews@newsleader.com or send us a message on Facebook.  

Here are the guidelines Reporter Monique Calello is following for her reporting visits:

Guidelines

• 30-minute time span

• Weekday or weekend noted

• Public places and businesses

Observations

• Masks worn

• Masks worn properly

• Social distancing practiced

• Guidelines, signs, floor decals indicating six-foot spacing, and signs recommending/requiring the use of masks

• Surprise observations

So, taking a page from her playbook, this weekend Executive Editor William Ramsey observed $harp $hopper in Waynesboro. He also checked out Willy's Ice Cream several times during the week and also on Aug. 1. The dessert hut is in the parking lot of Sharp Shopper.

Waynesboro $harp $hopper

On a weekday then again on Saturday, Aug. 1, Ramsey shopped in the grocery store for about a half hour from 6-6:30 p.m.

Here's what was found:

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The store is busier on Saturday, always. $harp $hopper is closed on Sundays. When it was more placid during the week recently, the store was orderly and almost every customer wore a mask.

On Saturday evening, it was more chaotic. About one-third of all shoppers had no mask and didn't seem to be aware of any kind of social distancing.

There was one middle-aged couple with no masks and observing no COVID guidelines, but most of the offenders seemed to be families with children. In each case, none of the adults or teens or elementary-school aged kids had masks.

There was a comprehensive corkboard sign right at the entrance about shoppers having to wear masks. And there was a cart-cleaning station that had wipes during the week but was not refilled on Saturday evening.

In the store, every employee was wearing a mask properly except one shelf-stocker going around the store who on multiple visits has been wearing their mask around their neck.

There is plexiglass between cashiers and customers. And there are marks on the floor.

The store seems well-cleaned. The dairy case and the freezer section were the areas you might avoid or not linger in. Customers there didn't even attempt to stay distant.

On your way out of the store, you see Willy's Ice Cream in the parking lot. It's always full on a nice night, and in mid- to late-July has been popular, as always. Willy's is strategically located near the entrance to the high-property value Pelham neighborhood where disposable income has been plentiful.

The ice cream was making people happy Saturday, and as the night grew later — dozens and dozens of customers gathered together within 2 feet of each other and not a mask in sight.

The same pattern at Willy's has been observed over the past 2 weeks or more. Crowds and nary a mask. If you want to observe COVID-19 best practices, get some ice cream at Martin's to take home instead.

Surprise observations

Apparently, it's easier to appreciate classic cars if you get really close to each other without a mask on. It is also easier to appreciate the interior of someone's car if you lean way in without a mask on and talk to them from the passenger side, it seems. The gaggle of older men showing off their cars on Saturday in the parking lot of West Main Street was, except for a single elderly man, without masks or social distance. But the cars — pretty sweet rides.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Sharp Shopper in Waynesboro — Mask check and observation