Heinen’s alters hours as staffing shortages affect some Northeast Ohio grocery stores

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Grocery stores are not immune from the effects of the ongoing staffing shortage affecting many businesses: This week, Heinen’s announced via Facebook that its locations are cutting hours and will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. beginning Monday, Jan. 10.

Heinen’s has 19 locations in Northeast Ohio and four in Greater Chicago, according to its website.

Constantino’s, a food-shopping option for downtown Cleveland residents at 1278 W. 9th St., also has been faced with the same challenge, CEO Andrew Revy said.

“We certainly have had to close early and had to make accommodations due to staffing,” he said.

Normally, the store is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays. Even on New Year’s Day – a traditionally busy time – the store closed at 8 p.m.

When Constantino’s has to close early because of staffing issues, the store posts a notice on its door to let customers know, said Revy, who remains optimistic that within the next few weeks the store will get back to normal hours on a regular basis.

This isn’t the first time COVID and its myriad of economic gut punches have affected Constantino’s. The University Circle location closed its doors in May 2020.

“That was a COVID casualty,” he said.

“When the mandates hit, and the university (Case Western) shut down … University Circle was a ghost town. We lost 95 percent of our customers, and we just couldn’t make it.”

The staffing crisis is not endemic to Northeast Ohio. According to a report this week from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of “quits” – voluntary separations – increased substantially in November across multiple industries, with the largest increase seen in accommodation and food services.

Giant Eagle also has had to adjust its hours because of the staffing crisis. In a statement, the company said in part:

“Like many local and national retailers, we have been impacted by the labor challenges that have intensified during the pandemic, and we are actively hiring for hundreds of positions in Northeast Ohio to ensure our retail locations have adequate support. As we work to fill those openings, temporary adjustments have been made to reduce the operating hours of select Giant Eagle supermarkets and GetGo locations.

“Location hours have been adjusted on an individual basis to address the unique staffing situation of each store, with the majority of Giant Eagle and GetGo locations maintaining traditional operating hours.”

Last year, Giant Eagle, looking to fill hundreds of positions at its supermarkets and Market District locations, held a job fair for a range of positions in August.

One of four Whole Foods stores is paring hours slightly, but not for staffing shortages. The Pinecrest location in Orange Village is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. It recently was open until 10 p.m., but a staffer at the store said that last week’s closing time was pared from 10 p.m. “because the volume (of shoppers) wasn’t so great between 9 and 10.” Akron, Rocky River and University Heights locations will remain the same – 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Mustard Seed Market & Café in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood is closing at 8, but a worker there said it was a seasonal shift and not done for staffing purposes. The second-floor café has been open six days a week; it previously was open seven but because of COVID and staffing issues it closed on Mondays after its reopening. In-restaurant dining at Mustard Seed’s Montrose-area café in Akron remains temporarily closed.

Nature’s Oasis on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood is not changing hours, but a staffer at the Van Aken District location in Shaker Heights says the store is “looking at options” regarding its hours – not for staffing but for business in general, which has slowed in the winter, he said.

Akron-based Acme Fresh Market, with 16 locations in several counties, will retain normal store hours, a representative for the company said.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer also reached out to Dave’s Markets and Aldi for comment.

In October, Dave’s Markets held a hiring event to fill close to 300 positions at its 13 locations in Northeast Ohio. And Aldi held a job fair in September as part of a national push to hire more than 20,000 new store and warehouse employees, including more than 450 people in the Cleveland-Akron market.

Through it all Revy takes a breath and doesn’t panic.

“The best way to put it is staffing is always a struggle,” he said. “You always look for good staff. We are extremely lucky; we have a good core staff. We’re always looking for additional help. Retail business is historically high turnover anyways. I think the retail industry will always have a struggle. In general, I hope things settle in.”

I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.

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