Video: Minnesota Business Brace to Re-Opening
May 18, 2020 05:45AM ● By EditorWatch the WDIO-TV Report here
By Emily Ness of WDIO-TV - May 18, 2020
On Monday, thousands of Minnesota businesses will turn their closed signs to open signs.
This comes after Governor Tim Walz announced that his Stay at Home order, set to expire May 18, would be replaced with a Stay Safe order, allowing retail stores and other main street businesses to re-open if they had COVID-19 plans in place.
On Sunday, a number of Northland businesses put the finishing touches on their COVID-19 plans to insure their employees and customers would be protected. One of these businesses was Soul Sisters.
Soul Sisters was one of countless thrift stores that was forced to close amid the pandemic.
“It's been a long couple of months. I have been doing stuff on marketplace, so keeping our customers happy and working with them so they can still purchase things from us,” Aubel said.
According to Aubel, when customers set foot in the store Monday, they will encounter a number of changes.
“Of course we have our plexi-glass here to help. We are going to require masks,” Aubel said.
Additionally, Aubel said clothes will be sprayed down or steamed after customers try them on and the store will operate at 50% capacity.
These changes mirrored changes at Global Village—another store that was forced to close amid COVID-19 concerns.
“We all have to wear masks—it’s just what we have to do. I don’t think anybody wants to and I really want to see everybody’s beautiful faces, but this is what we do to protect the community,” Rachel Mock, owner of Global Village said.
According to Mock, this new protocol will make for a different experience but, she hopes to make it positive nonetheless.
“I'm really grateful, I'm really excited and I feel a big responsibility too to keep everybody safe so it’s been a lot of feelings this week getting ready for it,” Mock said.
Meanwhile, some businesses are still taking their time in re-opening. Sarah Herrick-Smisek, co-owner of DLH Clothing said they will continue curbside deliveries and offer customers the option to schedule times to come in and shop individually. But, they will hold off on opening their doors for a couple more weeks.
“We know our customers have been really patient and gracious and understanding with us and I think they'll continue to do so,” Herrick-Smisek said.
Herrick-Smisek said those who would like to shop individually can call the store. Additionally, she added that DLH looks forward to fully opening back up in the near future.
The Greater Downtown Council released guidelines to aid Northland businesses in re-opening earlier this week. Those can be found here.
To read the original article and see related reporting, follow the slink to the WDIO-TV website. https://www.wdio.com/duluth-minnesota-news/minnesota-businessess-reopen-/5733088/?cat=10335
