Missouri Grocery Store Replaces Salad Bar Items With Mini Bottles Of Alcohol

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There’s a good chance your local grocery store looks a little different these days.

I’m not just talking about everyone wearing masks.

The toilet paper and paper towel aisle are a little barer, the meat section isn’t as full, and the salad bar and self serve areas are covered up because of coronavirus.

A grocery store in Missouri decided to take advantage of the empty tins reserved for iceberg lettuce to put a popular pick-up item during quarantine – mini bottles of liquor.

The store director told NBC News that it all started out as a joke.

“We had originally put out other fresh foods, but it didn’t go over so well because everyone’s been stressed out,” said Rick Rodemacher, the store director of Dierbergs Markets’ Manchester, Missouri location. “A group of the employees were talking and we thought we could make good use of the empty space and make people smile if we swapped out the salad bar for one that serves alcohol.”

The display includes mini bottles of hard liquor and craft beer and a sign with the “salad” in salad bar crossed out.

Rodemacher told NBC customers are “getting a kick out of it” and have walked by smirking and telling employees it’s a “good idea.”

After other store managers found out about Rodemacher’s idea, some of the other locations erected their “salad bars,” including tiki bars and cereal bars.

While the booze salad bar has been a hit with customers, it hasn’t been a hit at the cash register.

“The sales are not nearly what the salad bar sales were,” Rodemacher told NBC, “but bringing a smile to people’s face is worth it.”

[via NBC News]

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Chris Illuminati is a 5-time published author and recovering a**hole who writes about running, parenting, and professional wrestling. Reach out to him on Instagram & Twitter.