WINNIPEG -- The pandemic has changed most aspects of everyday life and added extra time to many regular tasks.
Sometimes, going to the grocery store also includes standing in line. But the wait to get inside may be more difficult to bear once temperatures drop.
“It would deter me from shopping as frequently as I do now. I would definitely stock up so I’m making fewer trips to the grocery store,” said Sue Roesler outside of the Safeway grocery store in Osborne Village on Tuesday.
Along with the cold, others say the rising caseload may keep them away.
“I go (to the grocery store) a couple times a week because I walk by quite frequently,” said Paula Moynihan. “But if we’re in the middle of it again. I think I’ll just go once a week.”
Like consumers, businesses are also bracing for what winter may bring.
“We try to keep the lines down,” Marshall Fabrics manager Beth Syrnyk told CTV News. “We have had a little difficulty on rainy days.
“We have no canopy. A few people have complained that there is no place to hide. We do ask people to be patient and 99 per cent of the people are just absolutely wonderful.”
The store has a limit of 25 people. Syrnyk said plans are in the works so people waiting to get inside don’t have to stand in the cold.
“You come up, get a number, sit in your car, wait for your number to come up, and then you can come into the store,” she said. “I think that is what it might look like.”
Back at Safeway, shopper Michael Kannon said he often shops online now to avoid crowds. When Kannon does go shopping, he said he’s changed his expectations.
“I’ve had to adjust my attitude and say ‘wait a minute, now isn’t the time to get upset if the line is long,” he said.
Kannon said he expects Winnipeggers will be patient even if they’re stuck in a queue in the cold.
“We’re Winnipeggers, we’re harsh. We’re hearty,” he said.
