Weavers Way Co-op, with stores in Ambler, Chestnut Hill, and Mount Airy, has seen a staggering growth in web sales of groceries during the pandemic, writes Christian Hetrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The online orders went from around 15 per week to over 800 by April and the co-op had to build its online ordering systems essentially overnight.

This changed the informal system where people ordered over the phone or by email into an ordering form on its website.

The co-op reassigned cashiers to delivery and also hired laid-off waiters and baristas to help out.

At one point, things became so busy that general manager Jon Roesser, along with store managers and the executive chef, had to help deliver the groceries.

“It was all hands on deck,” said Roesser.

Since then, the demand for delivery has dropped significantly, from 16.5 percent in May to 1.2 percent currently. However, Weavers Way plans to remain in the grocery delivery business.

“We feel that it’s a sort of a game that we have to be in,” said Roesser. “Otherwise we run the risk of giving all that business to Amazon.”

Read more about Weavers Way Co-op in The Philadelphia Inquirer.