Grocery stores prepare for rush ahead of snowy holiday forecast

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- The good news is a white Christmas is more than likely. The bad news is you might have to drive in the snow to finish up your pre-holiday shopping.

Shoppers say this storm is already on their radar as they filled their carts Tuesday.

Grocery store workers say they'll be working hard to keep these shelves stocked as the storm approaches.

"With the snow coming in, the biggest concern of mine is I have two greyhounds and they don't have a lot of fur and they need to eat, so I was stocking up on dog food," said Sal Anscheuetz.

She says while she was already mostly ready, the looming threat of snow meant any pre-holiday shopping needed to get done now rather than later this week.

"People coming over on Christmas Day, so you gotta make the mulled wine and all the hors d'oeuvres, Packer game, you know, and the more snacks, the better," said Anscheuetz.

Officials at Metcalfe's Market in Wauwatosa say snowstorms are always busy.

"And now you have the holiday shopping on top of it, so we do expect to be busier than normal the next two days leading up to the storm," said Lisa Grudzielanek, Metcalfe's market assistant director of operations.

Which is why they're working to make sure they don't get behind because of the storm.

"We're connecting with our distributors and our wholesalers and getting trucks to our stores sooner trying to beat out the storm, so getting deliveries into our store a day or so ahead. And so we're trying to make some logistic changes to get everything in-store," said Grudzielanek.

Workers at grocery stores are asking everyone to be patient if there are long lines this week.

Anschuetz says that's how she handles stressful moments.

"Many, many years ago I ran into an Irish priest, and we were stuck in a thing, and I said, 'I'm so sorry for the wait,' and he said, 'Ah, lassy, when God made time, he made plenty of it,'" quoted Anschuetz. "Everyone's just gotta chill."