New York City foodservice, trucking challenges continue
The domino effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the greater New York City area produce industry has eased a bit, but repercussions continue with foodservice and freight.
By late September, nine of every 10 restaurants and bars in the city couldn’t pay full rent, and there are roughly 25,000 of those establishments, according to a New York City Hospitality Alliance survey released Sept. 21.
About 70% of Coosemans New York customers are purveyors that deal with restaurants, so there’s definitely been a shift in business, said Alfie Badalamenti, vice president and involved in purchasing.
“We have to shift our focus to more retail. We’re trying to find new retail customers and solidify relationships we’ve had in the past,” Badalamenti said.
“There’s always an opportunity for us to show what we can do with service and to grow.”
Home delivery is a growing trend that they’re looking into, said Ray Hernandez, head of purchasing.
“We’re not there yet, but that’s one of the things you have to consider if you want to survive. You have to figure out a way to get the food to the consumer,” Hernandez said.
New Yorkers have opted to dine outside their favorite restaurants, but with winter coming, outdoor seating doesn’t seem like it will take off.
“That’s one of the challenges. September, October wasn’t too bad, but now with cold weather and a little spike in COVID, we see a decline in our customers’ restaurant business,” Hernandez said.
Nathel & Nathel has also needed to lean into its retail base as purveyors lost so much restaurant business, and the struggle continues.
“We’re trying to work with our purveyor customers to get them the product they need. They were savvy, and a lot of them started to get into home delivery,” said Joshua Gatcke, fruit procurement buyer.
Meanwhile, the company has added some strong retail customers to its portfolio.
Baldor Specialty Foods, primarily a foodservice wholesaler with a retail line of fresh-cut products called Urban Roots, made major changes quickly in order to survive, said Michael Muzyk, president.
The company also sought business from major retail chains, including Northeast banners of Albertsons Cos. and soon, The Fresh Market locations in the Northeast, he said.
Baldor turned to home delivery as well, but he said it’s temporary, for the most part.
The company is primarily a business-to-business operation, rather than business-to-consumer one.
Trucking troubles
Freight and trucking have become extra challenging, and Lou Getzelman Jr. of Canyon Sales Co. doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.
With an office at the Hunts Point Produce Market, the broker can see GPOD of Idaho russet potatoes, carrots, onions and other potatoes arrive and depart — an ability to monitor the product firsthand that shippers and receivers appreciate, he said.
To adjust with all the changes, Canyon Sales has become more of a full-service broker, also handling transportation.
“When COVID hit, the need to get product quickly was really in high demand, and trucks became really expensive. It came to the point to where people don’t want to book the truck,” Getzelman said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s willingness to pay those freight rates for its Farmers to Families Food Box program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ability to do the same to respond to storms in the South didn’t help, he said.
“In the produce business, there’s only so much you can pay for a load of potatoes,” Getzelman said.
The California fires, storms in the South and inconsistent COVID-19 rules state to state, even county to county, have had a major effect on business, said Gabriela D’Arrigo, vice president of marketing and communications at D’Arrigo New York.
“The freight availability was really a nightmare at some points, and even when you could get a truck, you were fighting tooth and nail to make sure it was getting here on time, able to get loaded properly and get labor to load those trucks,” D’Arrigo said.
