Madras grocers stock up before big eclipse crowds

Whether you plan on embracing the eclipse or hunkering down and waiting for it to be over, you’re still going to need to eat. Madras grocery stores are working to make sure you won’t be greeted by empty shelves when you walk through their doors.

Grocers said Tuesday there’s no magic formula to know how much product they’re going to need.

“We’re using the biggest holiday we’ve had and we’re upping that 20 percent,” said Dan Walston, who manages Erickson’s Thriftway.

“We’re looking at tripling the majority of our orders,” said Rhonda Bourgo, owner of Grocery Outlet. “Unless, of course, it was beer or wine. For that, we almost went four times the amount.”

The store normally keeps one or two extra pallets of beer in the back storage area. They now have 10.

Bourgo said anticipating what people will want to buy has been tricky. A surprise seller is Otter Pops.

“Thousands of Otter Pops,” she said. “We have people who have rented out their entire properties, so they have tents all over. They bought Otter Pops.”

Stores in the area are focusing on grab-and-go products.

“Easily consumable goods is what we’re hanging our hat on: ice, water, Gatorade, chips, sandwiches out of the deli, those kind of things,” Walston said.

Erickson’s Thriftway will also be getting overnight deliveries.

“Normally, the store is not staffed in the middle of the night,” Walston said. “We’re here very early in the morning, but this is all the way through.”

Time will soon tell if the extra orders and extra hours will be enough to feed the masses.