Fight for survival: Buckling down to stock the shelves
Nashville Business Journal
John Dyke, owner and founder of The Turnip Truck, opened a new grocery store a week after the entire nation was essentially shutdown during the pandemic.
Byย Marq Burnettย ย โย Reporter, Nashville Business Journal
May 1, 2020, 7:05am EDT
To better understand the scope of the challenges small businesses are facing due to the coronavirus, the Nashville Business Journal has been staying in close contact in recent weeks with seven CEOs, owners and entrepreneurs. For this story, we asked them variations of this question: โWhat are you doing to save your business?โ The question is not a perfect fit, as some executives feel prepared for this moment, and even see big opportunities to grow market share. But for others โ who are attempting to avoid layoffs or whose revenue has suddenly disappeared โ the question couldnโt be more pressing.
Weโll continue to follow these people and companies in the coming weeks. Indeed, youโll hear from them again on May 29, when we and the rest of The Business Journals network will publish our โSmall business, big missionโ special report, which will tell the stories of how companies across the country are evolving. But for now, hereโs a look inside Nashville companiesโ fight for survival.
John Dyke tries to avoid letting the stress overwhelm him, but the doubts still creep into his mind.
Is the staff happy, safe and taken care of? Am I doing all the right things to protect our customers? Do we have enough products?
Dykeโs The Turnip Truck, a trio of local grocery stores, is considered an essential business and has remained busy throughout the coronavirus lockdown.
โThereโs been stress, but I donโt like carrying it into the store,โ Dyke said. โWhat Iโve done is buckled down every day and changed my role to being more hands-on on the [sales] floor. I try not to carry the stress into the business.โ
Amid this crisis, Dyke has added more shelves and hired more employees. Following the tornado and at the beginning of quarantine in March, Dyke opened The Turnip Truckโs third location, a store in West Nashville. He also announced the company would be hiring 30 employees.
Since then, Dyke has launched the companyโs e-commerce platform. Dyke also said he plans to hire another 20 or more people to meet both in-store and online demand.
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โWeโre fortunate to be in a position where we can help people out as an essential business,โ Dyke said. โWith most people not eating out, The Turnip Truck has been a great asset for the community.โ
One area of the business that has been hurt the most is The Turnip Truckโs food service stations, which include hot and salad bars. Dyke made the decision to close the stations, which account for 20% of his business, for safety. Heโs currently planning for how to re-open that part of the business once things are safe again.
โWe donโt know if itโs two, four or six weeks out, but we want to have the guidelines in place so weโre ready to go when itโs safe to start that part of the business again,โ Dyke said.
Article on Nashville Business Journal