Warehouse fire means a few empty shelves at local Hannaford supermarkets

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

GILFORD — Bonnie Taylor of Laconia had planned to pick up a 50-pound meat order from the local Hannaford store last Friday, the day the impact of the company's South Portland Distribution Center fire hit home. Stores throughout the Northeast suddenly found themselves without the meats and produce they were expecting.

A mechanical failure in the refrigeration unit of a truck parked in a delivery bay on April 26 sparked a fire that destroyed the trailer and spread through the fresh section of the warehouse that serves most of the Hannaford stores in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Company spokesman Eric Blom said there were no injuries, and the fire was confined to a portion of the warehouse, but it meant rerouting perishables through Hannaford's Schotack, New York, distribution center.

Blom said the fire has meant late deliveries, with a low inventory of certain fresh items, and some out-of-stock products.

Gilford grocery manager Ian Davis said the impact was almost immediate. While nonperishables were not as greatly affected, Davis said, with the main grocery items still on the shelves, meats and produce were in short supply until the New York warehouse could get them to the stores. They also have been pulling in produce from a warehouse in the Upper Valley, Davis said, so "the grocery side is back in order," and they're making progress day by day in filling the meat and produce needs. Most produce was available by Tuesday morning, including berries and bananas. Only salads and fruit juices were still missing.

Initially, the shortage of supplies had a "massive impact" on business, Davis said. "Customers were turned away by the empty shelves."

He declined to reveal the financial impact of the shortages, but he said it was significant.

"Now we're moving forward, getting what we can, and it's getting better and better daily," Davis said, but he had no estimate of when the store will be fully stocked again.

Blom said it has been a moving target, but operations in the damaged building are mostly back to normal. Work continues on the fresh area, and the timeline for completion of that work remains unknown. He noted that there are two warehouses in South Portland, one of them undamaged.

Hannaford's has used some third-party sources, including local farms, to replenish the inventory, he said.

Taylor said she has been assured that she'll receive her order at the sale price in effect at the time she placed it, and she was "more or less" able to get everything she wanted on Tuesday. "The produce is low, but I managed to make do," she said, "and I got everything else just fine."

Other customers said there has been little impact on their shopping. Arlene Lavoie of Laconia said liked to stay with Hannaford for her groceries, and Janice Harper, shopping for clients in the Home Assist Program of Lakes Region Community Services in Laconia, said she was able to find everything on her grocery list.

"I came to Laconia from Center Ossipee," she said. "There's nothing there, so I'm very happy here."

A few shelves were empty at the Gilford Hannaford's on Tuesday following a warehouse fire in the distribution chain, but most customers were finding everything they needed. (Adam Hirshan/Laconia Daily Sun)