The top store on Jefferson Ave,
here in Buffalo has been back
open now for several days.
Two months after the mass shooting
there this afternoon we got the
chance to speak with the supermarket
chains President John persons on the
same day that the accused killer was
arraigned on federal charges that
could include the death penalty.
Persons told me that more people
shopped at the store this past weekend
than would have normally been there
on any weekend before the massacre.
He says the community reaction
has been overwhelmingly positive
while also acknowledging that there
are those who think it opened.
Too soon and he updated us on plans for a
permanent memorial outside the supermarket.
Here's our conversation from earlier today.
John, it's great to have you back
on the tops on Jefferson has now
been open for a few days.
I think a lot of people are wondering.
You know what has foot traffic
been like and what kind of feedback
have you gotten from customers?
Yeah, since we opened the doors
on Friday morning, it's certainly
been a wave of different emotions.
What I can say overall is that we've
been welcomed back and greeted
with so much love and affection.
It's actually been overwhelming at times
Friday in particular when those when
people first stepped through the doors.
You know, there were certainly tears.
We had ambassadors there to greet people
and to help them through the threshold.
Help them through the store
if they if they needed it.
And by and large,
the affection and the love for our
store team shown by the community
has been has been fantastic.
Traffic foot traffic.
Customers coming into the store has been
has exceeded what our expectations were.
We weren't really weren't really sure
what to expect honestly and we knew it
would take some time and for for the
community and for customers to kind
of process and digest the new store.
And coming back into the store.
But you know,
by and large customers have have come
back and have engaged considerably,
so the metrics that we use internally,
we gauge you know the number
of customers in the store.
We gauge sales department,
sales category, sales.
All of those metrics are significantly
higher than than trend and and
what we had been expecting so.
We think you know this was,
you know for sure the right thing
to do for for the Community,
and you know, as you can imagine,
those areas that are most needed
by the area of the you know fresh
fruit and vegetables and fresh
meat and fresh bakery.
Those are the areas that
are really doing well right
now. How do you quantify that foot traffic?
I mean, are you close to seeing
the number of customers that you
would have seen on an equivalent
weekend before the mass shooting?
Or is it going to take you a while?
You think to get back to?
To those kind of numbers.
Actually, we have seen more customers.
During these past few days,
then we had seen on a on
a similar time frame.
So we've we've we've actually.
There's actually been more
customers into the store,
which, which is something
we weren't prepared for,
but we're very, very happy
to see. We've talked to
victims families to customers,
to community leaders,
but I wonder about your employees.
What have you heard from them about
this reopening while keeping in
mind that you know some of them were
there the day that this happened?
Obviously still dealing with the trauma.
How are they kind of processing?
Being back to work now a few days into this?
So we started.
You know we started a month ago.
The acclimating those who wanted
to come back at this time who felt
comfortable enough to come back so
they had been working in the store
for really for the past month.
Most of them.
Some of them don't feel it's right yet,
and we're certainly OK with that
and we'll help them along the way.
We'll when they're ready to come back,
we'll make sure we're there for them.
We'll help them reacclimate to the store,
but generally speaking,
the associates have been most of the
associates in that store have been
working there for the past month.
Now. I would tell you.
Friday was a little different
because it was the first day that
they actually interacted with.
You know the customers that they serve
the people that they've known for so long.
So again, it was a very emotional
day for for many of them.
Lots of hugs, lots of kisses,
you know,
lots of tears for sure and and laughter.
I think.
I think it went very well and the
associates feel very strongly about
wanting to get back in service,
the community and wanting to
get back to their jobs and.
And you know, as they say,
they're Jefferson strong.
And and they don't want to let hate win.
And I think I think that's what
they're showing right now.
A moment ago, you explained how you
believe you made the right decision.
In reopening quickly,
you think that that is borne
out by the number of people who
have shown up as customers.
But there have been protests
outside the store as well.
Some people who think two months
is just too soon to reopen.
What do you say to those protesters?
Yeah, this event certainly
evokes all kinds of emotions,
and we certainly understand it's difficult
and some people may might not feel it's time.
Some people might not ever feel like
it's time to go back into that store,
and we certainly understand that.
So you know, first and foremost,
we do recognize that and.
We look at it as our obligation
really following through on
our obligation to service.
You know, East Buffalo service.
You know Jefferson Ave neighborhood
and you know when we kind of
look at that and our obligation,
our responsibility,
we really knew that we had to open
up the store and and we've done it.
We feel like we've done it in the most
respectful way we possibly could.
Recognizing certainly the victims being,
you know,
being inclusive of the neighborhood,
bringing the community inside the
store in so many different ways.
We wanted to listen to the Community,
take this opportunity to actually
have a store that can service the
Community and the neighborhood
better than it did before.
That was our obligation and and we
feel comfortable that that we've
done that. Finally, John,
you listen to the victims families and
did not include their names on the
memorial that you put inside the store.
It's a beautiful poem with a water wall,
but we're also told that there will
be a permanent memorial outside
the store where our discussions
surrounding that at this point.
Yes, so the the front of our parking
lot where where the large temporary
memorial is right now that area is a
pretty large space and it would be our
intention to have a permanent memorial.
Sort of maybe like a remembrance park and
and some other memorial type items up there.
So we have been talking to
community leaders and others.
We have a we have a couple of
proposals already and and we're
we're likely to talk to more.
People we want to make sure that we
have the Community input and what we
have there permanently is appropriate
and very respectful of all the victims.
I would I would say that that's going
to take a little bit longer to to do.
We would like to target to have
it done by by next year spring
and we'll work hard to doing that,
but we want to make sure we do it
right with the with the right input.
But yes we will have another
memorial outside that store right
in the front of the parking
lot. All right, John Parsons is
president of tops. Friendly markets.
Thanks so much for sharing some of
your time with us and coming back on
the show. Thank you, Michael, thank you.