How the Pandemic has Affected Local Businesses

How has the pandemic affected local businesses and what effect has this had on the community?

How+the+Pandemic+has+Affected+Local+Businesses

Amelia Lillemo, Writer

 

This week I interviewed three people from local businesses and Ruth Tucker from city hall to get their perspective and stories on how the pandemic and mandate regulations have affected businesses and our community. 

The first interview was with the owner of a local fitness center who said that his business has been devastated. During the first lockdown early this year, he estimates that his business lost between $76-$78 thousand dollars. He continued saying that he has not been able to recover those numbers because he is currently at 25% occupancy for members/customers. 

He said that in concern with Covid he has asked members to be honest and communicate about if they have had contact with it and that they would self-quarantine and stay out of the fitness center till the end of their quarantine. If they quarantined according to CDC recommendations that would be two weeks (14 days). 

There was one case he said where someone unknowingly had come to the center with Covid, this person told the owner when they found out they had Covid. He was fortunate enough that no one else contracted it. The owner also said that he pays attention to the best time and manner in which to clean so that his business does not unnecessarily contribute to the spread of Covid. 

He said that he probably has more control over the germs in his business than a larger business such as retail or grocery stores. His reasoning behind this is that he knows to a greater detail the people and things in his business that could help and harm people. A grocery or retail corporation has thousands of people coming into their stores, possibly touching their mask and then touching store products or staff, later, another customer may do the same and there is really no way for a large business to regulate that. 

I asked him his personal thoughts on the pandemic and he said that regardless of whether he had a business or not he thought that his perspective would be the same. He was skeptical of whether or not good science was being practiced at the beginning of the year and if the Covid cases were being accurately counted. He still followed regulations as best he could despite his concerns.

He said that he has taken a great deal of time and effort thinking about and implementing how his business deals with Covid. He says that he is glad they can remain open for now as he contacted the mayor and there has been no action to shut him down. 

An important note is that for some people his fitness center is the only outlet they have had these past months; since everything else is closed or open at a minimum capacity. He has adults and children that take classes and he said that “it is almost more important to come and exercise now during a pandemic so that people stay healthy than ever…” That is if you are able. He hopes to have an increase in members so that he can continue to remain open and serve our community. 

The second person I interviewed was Vince, a manager at a local hair shop. He said that the hair shop opened in November of 2019, and taking into account the 2 months they closed due to lockdown, they have been open and able to serve for a year this month (Jan 2021). 

The main source of income for the hair shop is walk-ins and now they have to function off of appointment only. The hair shop has  ⅓ of its regular customers and thus ⅓ of the revenue. He said fewer people are coming to his shop because people aren’t going out as much meaning that they don’t need to be clean-cut or shaved as often. 

He said that around the beginning of the school year they usually have a bunch of kids coming to get back-to-school hair cuts but this year there wasn’t. There are also regular customers such as businessmen or public figures that would come in every week that now only come in every 3-4 weeks. Some of them have even prolonged it to months between appointments.

He said that the hair shop was able to apply and get a small business loan which helped to keep the business running when their doors were closed. But that it will not be enough to keep them open, and if they are not able to increase revenue by 10% they will have to shut down in 8 months. 

To adjust to the reduced revenue the hair shop had to assign split shifts and reduce hours. Vince said that the employees are losing a day per week and often shifts are cut early because of the lack of customers. This has forced two employees to take up another job to make up for the income loss.

He also said that they had to let a new employee go because he wasn’t meeting the minimum hourly rate. He said that they usually can let newcomers gain clientele but because of the situation, they had to let him go.

When a customer does come in, he said that they are at ½ customer and staff capacity. There are five chairs for customers and then five employees. They have staggered the chairs so that they are further apart so that there is less contact between customers. The hair shop also requires staff and customers to wear masks. He said that “this [wearing masks] makes cutting hair difficult around the ears but they can take the mask off for a shave or beard trim.” 

Vince said that The Board of Cosmetology already has a high standard for sanitation in hair shops but they have increased the number of inspections this year. He said they usually only have one inspection a year but this year they have had three. He also said that “because of the high standard set by the board we have not had to change how we clean.”

The third person I interviewed was Chris, a co-owner of Smokey’s Pub N’ Grill. He said that Covid regulations have affected business “quite a bit.” He said that they have always had high cleanliness standards but in addition to that, they have added hand-sanitizer stations around the restaurant, require staff and customers to wear masks, and encourage social distancing as much as possible. He also added that staff has always been required to frequently wash hands but now it is even more encouraged. 

Their seating is at 50% capacity because they have physically removed the number of chairs in the restaurant. And while customers are required to wear masks while walking around, they can take off their masks to eat and drink. 

During the summer, to help make up for the seating loss, they were able to put some tables outside on their grass outside their business. Chris said that once it got cold this affected revenue more because they no longer had outdoor seating. 

He said for a while they were doing curbside only and the first two weeks were slow. After the first weeks business picked up. He said it was “probably because people got sick of home cooking and wanted to eat out.” He also said that during the holiday season they had businesses book catering through them. 

Because of the slow business, they have had to cut some hours and shifts. An example of this is that on a normal Saturday they would have five or six servers but now they need only three. They have been able to keep all their employees but one of them had to take on an extra job and to some other people, Smokey’s is their second job. 

Chris said that this week they reopened, with 50% capacity, indoor dining. He said that he was surprised by how their curbside and take-out sales have gone up after reopening indoor dining. He said that revenue is still lower than before but that he hopes to see an increase with spring and the covid vaccines. 

He says “There is still a light at the end of the tunnel.” This time of the year, Mid Jan-Feb, is one of the busiest times for Smokey’s and with outdoor seating opening back up in the spring and summer he thinks it will be good. 

Chris had one final thing to say to the customers of Smokey’s. “Thank you to all the people that have continued to support us. We could not have continued without such great customers, whether it was curbside, take-out, or gift cards that you bought. We are still here and we are open because of you.”

The final person I interviewed was Ruth Tucker, an Economic Development Specialist at Blaine town hall. She said that she and her colleagues have had to work from home and that the town hall is operating on appointment only. They are still having all the normal departments open and departments such as the police and firefighters in action. 

She said that businesses can apply for a grant through the Business and Non-Profit Relief Grant that opened this morning. This is to support businesses that have been impacted by Covid. She said that it is on a first come first serve basis. To find out more about this you can go to the website:  https://www.anokacountysuccess.org/covid-19-anoka-county-business-resources/ 

She said that before this 60 care grants have been given to Blaine businesses and that the areas that have been hit the hardest are retail, restaurants, and tourism. One of the events that bring tourism into our community is the 3M Open Golf Tournament. This year it was not canceled but there were no spectators allowed to attend. She said that all the events that can be held virtually were held virtually. 

I asked her if there was anything that she wanted to say and she responded “Go support restaurants and retailers. Show up and support our community. Non-Profit organizations and food banks have taken a toll, with more people out of jobs less people are able to donate meaning there is less food for homeless and hungry people. So if you can it would help if you donate to them”