If you love the homemade guacamole and salsa from Honey Bee Market in Detroit, you'll have to go a week without.
Ten weeks into the pandemic, Honey Bee, one of southwest Detroit's beloved independent grocery stores, is giving its employees one week off with pay to thank them for their hard work and dedication.
The market at Bagley and 16th streets, will close Monday and reopen on June 1. The market's owner, Tammy Alfaro-Koehler, said all staff — a mix of about 22 full- and 15 part-timers — will be paid for the week.
A post on the market's Facebook page read: "Our Honey Bee family has been very busy bees the last ten weeks working earnestly to restock our shelves, meat counter, and produce as well as keeping Honey Bee clean. I want to thank our busy bees for their hard work. We will temporarily close Monday, May 25th through Sunday, May 31st to give our Honey Bee team time to rest."
Alfaro-Koehler had been seeking a way to reward staff members, some of whom have been there more than 20 years.
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"I wanted them to know that they are appreciated and important in serving this community," she said. "I wanted to give back to them.
"After 10 weeks of working full throttle, I thought let's take a week off," Alfaro-Koehler said, adding that most part-time employees don't have paid vacation time.
The decision to close now wasn't made lightly, she said, given the market's vital role in serving the community. Alfaro-Koehler said she didn't want to disappoint customers — or not be there for them during the pandemic.
"But," she said, "I also have to be there for the team. We are working hard, and it's trying times for everyone.
"It was so all us could get some rest — rest our minds and our bodies and our souls — so we could be ready to serve the community on June 1."
Alfaro-Koehler said customer response has been fantastic.
"We have some great customers who are understanding and encouraging it."
Honey Bee has been a mainstay in southwest Detroit's Hubbard-Richard neighborhood since 1956, when Alfaro-Koehler's grandparents — Gerardo and Maria Alfaro — founded the market. The first Honey Bee was a small store, with its front doors facing Bagley. In 2006, the market underwent a major expansion, tripling in size. Today, the front entrance now faces 16th Street.
Contact food writer Susan Selasky: 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
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