Commissary closing this weekend

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs
The Malmstrom Commissary will close at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 8 and will not reopen until 7 a.m. Tuesday, March 11 in order to conduct a complete store reset. 

"We haven't done this in our store since 1997," said Lori McDonald, grocery manager at the Commissary. "We are very excited. Since we just finished the remodel and now we will get all new shelving, as well as new product lines, it will almost be like we have a new store." 

During the reset, all of the merchandise will be removed from the shelves, new shelves will be installed and products will be restocked - not necessarily in the same places they have been located before. 

"Essentially, aisles one and two will be the same as they are now, but the rest of the store has been redesigned so it flows better," Ms. McDonald said. "I know change is a hard thing to adjust to, but it will be a change for the better." 

Some of the other changes, besides where products will be located, include extending the current aisles by another four feet and increasing the height of the shelves slightly. 

"Everything is going to have its own home on a shelf," Ms. McDonald said. "There won't be nearly as many free-standing displays, such as the vitamins, in the store after we complete this project." 

The store will also be carrying an additional 400 new products, to included more soup, jello, coffee and tea choices, an expanded line of dog foods, more juices, detergents and cleaners, to name a few. And some slower-moving products carried currently will no longer be stocked. 

"I just want our customers to know that if a product they normally buy is no longer on the shelves, they can always request for it to be special ordered," Ms. McDonald said. "We can still get the products and the cashiers all have the special order forms available for anyone who needs one." 

When the store reopens Tuesday, someone will be at the entrance to greet shoppers and provide them with a map of the new layout of the store. Maps will also be available in the main entryway indefinitely for customers to pick up when they go to the Commissary to shop. 

"We appreciate everyone's patience while we do our best to improve the store and ultimately achieve what we hope to achieve everyday - making our customers happy," said John Nelson, Commissary store manager. "It's a challenge for all of us, employees and shoppers, but together I am confident we'll meet with success."