COLUMBUS — Ahmad Sheikh has been the proud owner of Nick’s Market for the past few months.
Nick’s Market was a Columbus staple for decades before it briefly became The Culture Market at the beginning of last year. The Culture Market ran out of business shortly after it was renamed. Sheikh took ownership and returned the shop to its roots.
“Everybody knows Nick’s Market, like nearly all of Columbus, so I prefer to continue that name,” said Sheikh.
The store is located in east Columbus in one of the city’s food deserts. He understands the need for a multi-purpose market, so customer service has become a high priority. He's been building a rapport with customers like Gary Russell. Russell stops in almost every day after picking his wife up from work.
Sheikh takes the time to negotiate prices with customers and tries to serve as many needs as possible. Aside from being thrown a couple of free peppermint patties, Russell said the store has the potential to be great for the community.
“If I can avoid going to Kroger on my way home because if I know he [Sheikh] has fresh produce and meat here then I’m going to stop here,” said Russell.
Sheikh’s plan is to offer a full-service market, but food shortages have gotten in the way.
“There's a shortage of wings,” said Sheikh. “There’s a shortage of breasts when I order them. Out of ten items, they only send maybe two or three.”
There are many factors that contribute to the shortages independent grocers are experiencing. One is many factory employees are in isolation due to contracting or coming in contact with COVID-19. Companies like Frito-Lay and The Kraft Heinz Company have cut production to focus on top flavors to combat being short-staffed. In 2020 Kraft Heinz cut 20% of its product lines and in 2021 experienced labor strikes.
“Due to the COVID, the factories are going down,” said Sheikh. “They have a shortage of workers to work there so they are downing their stock.”
Big box stores most likely have what you are not able to find at Nick’s Market. Sheik says this is due to big box stores getting priority and big-name vendors dividing stock between the smaller markets in the area. This has made it hard for him to establish his store.
“I don’t have that much ready because the vendors didn’t give me that much and didn’t give me what they are giving to the big stores,” said Sheikh.
Due to staff shortages and production cuts, Sheikh said vendor prices have gone up forcing many small grocers to choose between accessibility and profit.
“Chips prices went up 50 cents per bag because the production is low and their overhead is still there,” said Sheikh. “That's why there is a price for those things because of the shortages.”
Sheikh said he wants Nick’s Market to be a one-stop shop with meat and fresh produce in an area where people can grab hot meals. He was hoping to have all that done in the next few months but says he's following the availability of what is on the market. He said that he doesn’t want to keep waiting on national or global vendors so he plans on looking at more local vendors throughout the state and region.