COVID-19 Resources for Tribal C-Stores

January 25, 2021

In many native communities, a convenience store is a community hub, a place to meet, swap news, and connect. Our stores are more than gas stations to us. COVID-19 has hit some Native communities extremely hard.

In response, the Tribal Convenience Store Association is curating all the resources we have at our disposal to help the brave men and women who operate our c- stores keep themselves and the communities they serve safe. 

As a national trade association representing over 120 native-run convenience stores and 47 tribes, our mission is to build c-store success for all by freely exchanging best practices. We feel it’s our duty to share our knowledge tribe to tribe and store to store — now more than ever. 

Bookmark this page and follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn to get the latest insights into safe and successful operating practices.

COVID-19 Resources for Native C-Stores

Adaptive Leader Webinar

The landscape is changing rapidly these days. Leaders need to cultivate new skills like an adaptive mindset. Our free July 22 webinar on learning to adapt as a leader couldn't be more timely or helpful to stores that need to make changes quickly and lead with courage right now. 

ADAPTIVE LEADER WEBINAR

CDC Guidelines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has comprehensive and highly-vetted information to help you prevent coronavirus in employees and customers. We encourage all c-store employees to familiarize themselves with general CDC guidelines. We also encourage employers to keep up on the latest CDC information for business owners and tribal communities.

Food Safety and Business Tips for Reopening

At our May Member Meeting, the first virtual meeting in our association’s history, Lisa Johnson, of Harbor Wholesale Distribution, shared about best practices related to foodservice and c-store management during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. She relates many practical tips for increasing safety and the perception of safety, both of which are important to c-store businesses and their customers as the nation begins to re-open.

Native Business Article on Tribal C-Store Response to COVID-19

Many native c-stores are seen as essential in their communities and are thus open for business. This article highlights some of the COVID-19 best practices adopted by TCSA member tribes in their c-stores and gives practical examples of how to support and protect your customers and employees, including team members who may be more vulnerable due to age or other complicating factors. Protecting our elders is key to keeping our cultures, languages, and loved ones alive.

StrasGlobal COVID-19 Response Plan

A global organization focused on convenience store management services and consulting, StrasGlobal operates c-stores around the world and helps others operate successfully too. They have added a COVID-19 Response tab to their home page. The page generates weekly COVID-19-related articles with a focus on c-stores and other small-format stores. They have also created a thorough COVID-19 response plan that many c-stores are looking to as a model for handling everything from safety to signage, sanitization, and employee morale.

NACS COVID-19 Resources Page

The National Association of Convenience Stores is the largest convenience store-related trade association in the country and a benefactor of TCSA. They post daily articles to their COVID-19 Resources page that focus on safety, best business practices, and coronavirus news that could impact c-stores and other retailers. As guidelines and timelines differ across the country, NACS is a great national resource for c-stores.

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