By Lauri Lee
Northside Economic Development Coalition
Madison Oriental Market at 1197 N. Sherman Ave. at NorthGate is coming up on the one-year anniversary of their Nov. 8, 2019, grand reopening after renovation to meet the food access needs of the Northside’s multi-ethnic population. From all indications, it seemed the time was right to undertake expansion. The family owned and operated store had broad support from the community, the 2019 economy was strong, and owner Kyle Lee left his job in Minneapolis to help his family with store responsibilities.
When the COVID-19 pandemic changed the business landscape March 13, it put pressure on the small business already operating on slim profit margins. There were additional expenses for adding plexiglass barriers and extra sanitizing, at the same time as lowering the business income due to the mandated reduction of customers allowed in the store at one time.
In order to financially survive the pandemic, all businesses have found they needed to bolster operations and create efficiencies.
“We found that we need to tighten inventory management and track the timing of how much product is needed at any given time to meet our expanded offerings of fresh produce, meat and fish, dairy, spices and baking items for Asian, African, Cambodian, Filipino, Hispanic, Hmong, Indian, Jamaican and Thai cuisines,” said store manager, Cynthia Lee. “Plus, when we added the sale of basic household supplies to become a one-stop shop, this was another new category to stock. Due to the additional cuisines and product lines, and the ever-changing pandemic mandates, we don’t have a normal sales record to guide us in ordering. When we switch over in the near future to a new point of sale system and start working in QuickBooks, this should make our bookkeeping much easier. It’s also time for us to hire a few people to help us. We’d like to hire a Hmong bookkeeper, one or two part-time stock people and a cook familiar with Hmong recipes for our deli.
“We’ve seen a lot of new faces shopping at the store and customers have requested that we stock new items such as more vegetarian options and ingredients for Japanese, Korean and Mexican cuisine.”
A rule in buying local is to consistently support your local stores so they can survive and always be there for customers. If you haven’t stopped in lately, drop in to say hello and support this friendly small business.
The hours at Madison Oriental are Tuesday‒Saturday, 9 am–7 pm, and Sunday, 10 am–6 pm. The deli is open from 10 am–6 pm during the week and 11 am–5 pm Sunday. They are now closed Mondays for restocking.