Ingles grocery stores and gas stations can process credit, debit, and EBT cards again. The announcement was heralded on the sign outside the Ingles in Clarkesville, a week after Hurricane Helene knocked electronic processing offline at the grocery chain’s headquarters near Asheville.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Ingles, which operates over 200 stores, including more than a dozen in Northeast Georgia, was forced to operate on a cash- or check-only basis.
The supermarket chain is now working to keep its store shelves stocked after stormwater flooded its main distribution center in Swannanoa, North Carolina.
Quality Foods, which has eight locations in Georgia and two in South Carolina, fared better during Helene.
On Oct. 3, Quality Foods Vice President of Operations Warren Brown visited the chain’s Cornelia location. He told Now Habersham that at least two stores lost power due to the storm—one in Grier, South Carolina, and the other in Winder. Both lost perishable products, but electricity and operations were restored within days.
Brown says he does not anticipate problems keeping store shelves stocked because Hurricane Helene did not impact Quality Foods’ main supplier. The company also has secondary suppliers in Atlanta.
“We are having to up our orders. We weren’t expecting all of this influx of business,” Brown said, adding, “We’re in pretty good shape.”
