“We’re stocking up on our shelves with meat for people that want to stock up in their freezers,” says Best Stop manager Damon Cormier. “We’re doing curbside service now; you can give us a call, we’ll bring it out to your car.”
In other words, the boudin wonderland known as The Best Stop—a store practically synonymous with the town of Scott--- has found ways to keep the doors open.
But being “open”, especially in the Corona Era, has seen a reshuffling of the deck. Walk-in business is down just a touch, but shipping? Ah, shipping from Best Stop has ramped up.
“We’re doing more shipping than ever right now,” smiles Cormier. “I had a guy call last week who said, ‘Ooh, I’m getting tired of eating this food in Illinois; send me some boudin!’ I said, yes sir, we can do that’.”
Sanitizing and cleaning – that’s on counters, door handles and displays-- has also increased.
And while the of the store still has an array of specialty meats for today’s customers, Best Stop also has its eye on the post-pandemic future.
“We’re gonna’ have our wholesaling facility done in August,” explains Cormier, “our USDA, our inspecting facility so we’ll be able to sell across state lines for resale.”
The Cormier family did consider shutting down when the pandemic began but, having been around for 33 years, they knew Best Stop was being counted on to be there and… be open.
“Yes, definitely, like I said, we’ve been here since 1986,” adds Cormier. “They’re accustomed to coming here, shopping here, and we’re gonna’ stay open for them.”
