Commissary Bakeries, Delis to Reopen

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The bakery and deli sections at 44 stateside commissaries will be back in business by the end of June, Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) officials announced May 20.

The sections had shuttered abruptly in February and March when DeCA fired the current contract for poor performance. Most of the stores then reopened a few weeks later with limited stock and operations using the same employees, hired by DeCA on a temporary basis. At Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for example, the sections carried limited deli meats but no fresh baked goods like cupcakes and no fresh rotisserie chicken.

The commissary deli counter at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. is among those impacted by DeCA's decision to fire a contractor. . The commissary deli counter at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. is among those impacted by DeCA's decision to fire a contractor. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Benjamin Raughton.)

Now DeCA says they have hired a new contractor to take over operations of those stores. The new operator, Military Deli and Bakery Services Inc. (MDBS) already operates the sections in 72 commissaries across the western U.S., in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Texas and in Georgia. The new contract will bring their total to 116.

MDBS will start their takeover on a rolling basis June 1 and is expected to be fully operational by July. The about 30 commissaries that also have sushi bars, which are also managed under the deli and bakery contract, will see those return by mid-July, commissary officials said.

While closed bakeries and delis probably aren't that big of a deal at commissaries that are in non-rural areas, the shut down impacted several stores, like Fort Polk, Louisiana, with no other local options for quality deli meats such as Boars Head.

Did the commissary bakery and deli closures impact you? Will you start shopping those counters again once they are fully operational?

 

Photo courtesy U.S. Air Force.

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