“A hot mess,” that’s how one shopper referred to the controlled chaos in a northwest Washington, DC Safeway Supermarket this morning.
Shoppers are packing the aisles and scraping the shelves bare, while store clerks are working over time to keep them full. Of course, the first items to go are the basics, bread, milk, water, and toilet paper. And with the Super Bowl just a few days away a few other essentials have been added to that list chips, cheeses, and at this local Safeway, ribs.
Another thing not to be found in the store is a shopping cart. The normal corral where they are kept is vacant, I thought I saw a tumbleweed roll through at one point. Once someone relinquishes one from the check out counter, five new customers are ready to pounce on it.
Even though everyone is jockeying for the last box of Cocoa Puffs, the crowds seem amicable and more amazed at just how many people are still out trying to get those last minute essentials. Every singly one of roughly a dozen checkouts is pushing customers through as fast as they can, but shoppers are still saying the average wait time is 90 minutes.
Around the city the snow has begun to fall, and federal office workers have been give the green light to get out of the city before the major accumulation begins. As of now, they are calling for 28 inches to hit the DC region, if that holds true, I’m sure folks here are hoping their chips and dip will make it through the big game.