Area residents have a new grocery store option but it's not by the traditional Publix or Winn-Dixie.
Staff at Hilton Pensacola Beach created a grocery store in the lobby coffee shop to sell the food it would've used during spring break, which also allows them to create work hours for staff amid the coronavirus outbreak. It was such a success that Nick Murray, corporate director of food and beverage for Innisfree Hotels, said the Hilton began ordering more from their suppliers during a time of little tourism because the shop sold several hundred dollars of product in the first few hours, selling out the first day.
"When we called our food reps and vendors and were like 'We want to order 200 pounds of Kobe beef,' they were like 'You're out of your mind. You're crazy.' They thought we were nuts because no one can operate right now really in full capacity," Murray said.
The idea started when Executive Chef Omar Torres had some Wagyu beef on hand when restaurants closed their dining rooms. He didn't want the meat to go to waste so he offered it at a severely discounted rate, about $45 per pound instead of $160 to $200, and it sold within the first 30 minutes.
The store operates mostly as a butcher shop, with options like Wagyu beef, veal and fresh seafood at a discounted price and all from American suppliers. It also features some produce and olive oil as well as uncooked meals with all the needed ingredients.
Torres or one of the other chefs on staff can even give directions to buyers on how to cook the meats at home.
"Some of our guests that come over, they kind of hesitated, 'Oh I want to buy this steak, but I don't know if I know how to cook it,'" Torres said. "So I'll come out there, or any one of the chefs, and we'll teach them. We'll show them, give them some techniques of how to properly cook the meat once they get home."
The food is higher-end but offered at a discounted price because there's almost no markup on the products, just enough to cover costs.
"Everybody's always talking about how the grocery stores are running out of things and we have some unique buying opportunities," Murray said. "There's meats I haven't seen anywhere in Pensacola for sale."
After buying the meat, residents began sending photos of the meals they created to Torres. That sparked a contest: whoever sends the chef the most creative meals with products from the grocery store will win a chef's table dinner for two when restaurants open again.
Those interested in participating in the contest can submit their meals to H2O Grill's instagram account, which is the restaurant attached the Hilton.
"Some of the guests that will buy the steaks, they'll take them home. And they were taking photos and sending them to me so I thought that was really cool," Torres said.
Madison Arnold can be reached at marnold@pnj.com and 850-435-8522.
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April 06, 2020 at 06:16PM
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Hilton Pensacola Beach opens makeshift grocery store in lobby to offer quality meats - Pensacola News Journal
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