With the increased need for groceries and other household items due to COVID-19, the Turnip Truck is proceeding with plans to open its third location.
Turnip Truck owner and founder John Dyke announced the full-service natural grocery store will open at 10 a.m Friday at 5001 Charlotte Ave.
“Two weeks ago, much of the equipment for this store was destroyed by the tornado,” Dyke said in a news release. “With COVID-19 striking on the heels of that, we knew we had to press forward to help feed our neighbors. I’m thrilled to say that – against all odds – we are opening a day earlier than we had originally planned. It won’t be as polished as we had hoped, but it will be open.”
The 15,000-square-foot store will offer produce, groceries, a butcher, bulk foods, beer and wine, supplements, health and beauty items, and a filtered water station, according to a news release. The produce is sourced within 200 miles. In a typical season, 90% or more of Turnip Truck’s produce is organic, but the release notes that this may be affected by “the current situation.” The store also plans to have a hot bar, salad bar, 100% organic juice bar and deli. However, due to coronavirus, the salad and hot bars are currently closed at all Turnip Truck locations.
“This would not have been possible without the herculean efforts of our team and the support of the city of Nashville,” Dyke said in the release. “We are thrilled to have more than 90 local companies represented in our inventory. In addition, we are creating new jobs here for 70 employees.”
In an effort to meet increased demand for groceries throughout the city, Dyke said he’s hired 30 new employees to ensure shelves remain stocked at stores.
Rooftop solar panels will provide 15% of the store’s energy. The store will have recycling stations, and it also won’t use plastic grocery bags, a company policy since 2014.
Dyke, an East Tennessee native, opened the original Turnip Truck Natural Market on Woodland Street in East Nashville in 2001. He later opened a location in the Gulch.
“With the current threat to our health, now’s the time to focus on nutrition and building up our immunity,” Dyke said. “Our team has always been a health partner to our customers, and we are ready and able to help folks find the right products and supplements for their individual need
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a pandemic. Reported illnesses range from very mild to severe, including death. Agencies anticipate widespread transmission will occur in the U.S. in coming months and recommend social distancing among other measures to slow the spread. Call your doctor and stay home if you are sick. Get more information at CDC.gov/coronavirus or contact the Tennessee Department of Health coronavirus information line at 877-857-2945 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT daily.
Turnip Truck produce manager John Nolan has been restocking fruits and vegetables faster than ever.
He’s had to substitute some organic items, including potatoes, for conventional produce, and garlic is temporarily sold out at the natural foods grocery chain.
But the shelves remain largely filled with a wide variety of fresh food.
“I try not to think too much about (COVID-19) exposure,” Nolan said. “I don’t romanticize it like I’m a first responder or anything. But I need to be here. People need food, so I come to work and make sure our shelves are stocked.”
Produce manager John Nolan restocks limes at The Turnip Truck Monday, March 23, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: Courtney Pedroza / The Tennessean )
The March 3 tornado left the East Nashville Turnip Truck store without power and devastated much of nearby Main Street. But, with the help of a generator, employees kept it open until electricity was restored.
Now it’s on the front lines of a new crisis.
Workers show up for shifts wearing latex gloves and masks or bandanas over their mouths and noses to help reduce the risk of exposure to the deadly respiratory disease.
The Metro Public Health Department does not recommend that the general public wear face masks unless they are sick or working with sick patients.
Vanderbilt University infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner said he wouldn’t discourage essential-services workers from wearing them, but they haven’t been proven to help reduce risk.
“If they were really thought to be a preventive mechanism then there would be an annual recommendation during each influenza season,” said Schaffner, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “There’s a lot of innovative activity around respiratory protection now. It’s just that we don’t have definitive answers. Even if we did, the priority ought to be focused on healthcare providers.”
New sanitizing stations arrived Monday for customers and employees, who are washing their hands and applying sanitizer routinely throughout the day as customers flood the aisles.
“I feel my employees are true heroes right now because they’re running into everybody,” Turnip Truck owner John Dyke said. “They’re providing a great service to the community.”
He’s preparing to open the third Nashville location at the end of this week, at 5001 Charlotte Ave.
“We have a team meeting every day and I greet every employee every day,” Dyke said. “Going from the tornado into this, many people haven’t been able to process their feelings.”
Antibacterial soap is so hard to get that the stores are making their own using rubbing alcohol, aloe vera and essential oils.
Food sellers in Tennessee and across the nation are rapidly adjusting their supply networks to keep shelves stocked, and instructing employees to keep their distance from others and clean regularly.
Kroger, Publix, Turnip Truck, Trader Joe’s and Aldi are hiring hundreds of new workers in the state as unemployment skyrockets amid widespread forced business closures.
Paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, chicken, baby items and boxed meals are so highly sought that they’re difficult to keep on the shelves, said Kroger spokeswoman Melissa Eads.
“There’s demand on just about anything,” Eads said. “We’re working 24-7 with distribution centers and suppliers to help replenish items as quickly as possible. Trucks are arriving daily and all our manufacturing partners have added shifts.”
Food is readily available, but the supply chains haven’t been able to meet the unprecedented customer demand fast enough.
“There’s just such pressure on the system right now and as soon as trucks come in, it’s bought up,” Eads said. “It’s going to take awhile to get things back to normal. We expect our conditions and quantities to continue to improve.”
Kroger’s grocery pickup service is so busy that orders are delayed and sometimes can’t be fully filled.
“We’re assembling the orders in the store and we’re having to navigate big crowds. A lot of times we don’t have items they want,” Eads said. “More people are choosing that option because they don’t want to go inside the store.”
All grocery stores are sanitizing public areas throughout the day to try to help reduce the rapid spread of coronavirus.
Publix has a “designated team of associates” assigned to sanitize baskets, cart handles and payment areas at the registers, said spokeswoman Nicole Krauss.
“Customers continue to buy in increased demands, and we’re asking customers to shop as they normally would,” Krauss said. “Also, we’re asking customers not to arrive early, waiting in line for stores to open. Since deliveries are made throughout the day, arriving first thing doesn’t guarantee product availability.”
Many grocery stores and delivery services have increased wages as they embark on hiring sprees.
Amazon will hire 100,000 new workers nationwide, including 1,200 in Tennessee, and Walmart is hiring 150,000 additional employees across the country.
“We believe our role serving customers and the community during this time is a critical one,” Amazon officials said, in a statement. “We’ve seen an increase in people shopping online for groceries and are working around the clock to continue to deliver grocery orders to customers as quickly as possible.”
Turnip Truck has received hundreds of job applications in recent days, said Chief Operating Officer Kim Totzke.
The stores have also picked up some new products from out-of-work restaurant suppliers to fill in gaps. But some items, like paper goods, chicken and garlic, are still moving off shelves faster than they can be restocked.
“It’s really easy to feel broken during this, so to feel like we can actually do something positive feels really good,” Tozke said. “It feels awesome to be able to provide some more jobs right now.”
Friends, due to the City and Federal call to action regarding COVID19 virus, and in order to take every precaution we can, we are CLOSING OUR HOT AND COLD BARS at both stores until further notice. Instead, we will make pack-outs of many of those items to provide our customers with access to salad items and warm entrees. The juice bar, produce, butcher, bakery and over-the-counter deli are still open.
To keep our shelves stocked, we have increased our orders by 50% and shipments are coming in each day. Both stores continue to be stocked.
We continue to maintain stringent hand washing requirements, and we are sanitizing surfaces at regular intervals to ensure our products, our staff and our customers are safe.
A note from our founder and owner, John Dyke:
“This month, we have seen once again how Nashvillians rally together after a disaster. With this present health threat, we expect to see the same thing – neighbors coming together to help one another. We will get through this with courage, patience and community spirit.”
TURNIP TRUCK EAST OPEN AFTER THE STORM, WHILE CHARLOTTE AVE STORE OPENING IS DELAYED
– Nashville’s Locally Owned Natural Grocer Keeps Doors Open for East Nashville –
– Tornado Destroyed Equipment for New West Nashville Location –
NASHVILE,Tenn. – Despite roof damage to the East Nashville store and losing significant equipment for the Charlotte location, Turnip Truck founder and owner John Dyke is determined to keep serving his East Nashville neighbors as the city recovers from Tuesday’s tornadoes.
“We have been running the store off a generator since the storm hit,” Dyke said. “I have lived in 5 Points for decades and founded Turnip Truck here in 2001. Our neighbors and our businesses need the city’s support now more than ever.”
Nashville’s locally owned natural foods grocer, Turnip Truck was set to open its third location on Charlotte Avenue this month. That opening is now delayed, due to the warehouse holding equipment for the store, near John C. Tune airport, being demolished in Tuesday’s storms.
“Not only did we lose the equipment, we also have hired staff for that store – and we desperately want to keep them on our payroll,” Dyke said.
Dyke said the costs of equipment replacement, roof restoration and running a grocery store off a generator are mounting. He invites his neighbors to seek refuge at the store and appeals to Nashvillians to support locally owned businesses affected by the storms.
“First and foremost, we want our neighbors to know they are welcome to come here to recharge phones, or just rest and regroup in our large dining area upstairs,” Dyke said. “For those making their way to help clean up East Nashville, we invite them to come refuel at Turnip Truck. East Nashville needs your business now more than ever as we all recover together.”
Customers can count on the most local food available, with produce sourced within 200 miles. In any season, a full 90 percent – often more – of Turnip Truck’s produce is organic. Other products such as local grass-fed meats, supplements and packaged foods are sourced for their lack of artificial colors, sweeteners, fillers, preservatives, thickeners or additives.
Dyke opened the original Turnip Truck Natural Market on Woodland Street in East Nashville in 2001. The East Tennessee native grew up on a family farm and sought to bring the health and wellness benefits of locally produced foods to his Nashville neighborhood.
ABOUT TURNIP TRUCK
Founded in 2001 by John Dyke, Turnip Truck is Nashville’s only full-service locally owned natural foods grocer. Specializing in local, natural and organic foods and products, the store has locations in East Nashville, the Gulch and Charlotte Pike. To learn more, visit theturniptruck.com.
A big thanks to The Tennessean for featuring us on the cover of this Sunday’s business section. And an equally big thanks to you, our customers and friends — the secret to our success. We are thrilled to be growing to serve you better!
