Scaled down staffs wore face masks, stringently wiped down surfaces and worked reduced hours as businesses across the region adjusted to partially reopened life amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Manager Chase Townsend isn’t used to the extra space and quiet at the Music Factory in Pearland, which specializes in music gear. Townsend is more accustomed to regulars roaming the 1,600-square-foot shop amid the roar of guitar solos from musicians testing out Fender electric guitars.
Since reopening up his showroom Friday, Townsend spends his time counting heads and straining for the sound of his ringtone.
“We’re kind of doing things by appointment and telling people that we’re just doing the necessities now,” he said. “Customers will call if they need something specific and I try and schedule them so that only two people are inside the business at one time.”
With guitars hanging from the ceiling and amplifiers lining the walls, space can be tight, Townsend said, but the 6-foot rule applies, and instruments are off-limits without permission.
“If someone wants to try out a guitar, I politely tell them to ask first,” Townsend said. “If someone wants to play a guitar, we handle the guitar, hook it up and then wipe it down afterwards.”
Business owners were optimistic and cautious as they adjusted to Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order allowing all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, malls, museums, libraries and places of worship to reopen May 1 at 25 percent occupancy and under recommendations to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
The weekend’s ‘first phase’ of reopening came as the state reported 1,196 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, marking the third straight day of more than 1,000 new cases in Texas. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and other officials continue to warn that reopening businesses now could have an adverse effect in mitigating the spread of the virus for the long-term.
Business owners said they are trying hard to strike the right balance.
“Social distancing in my little shop here will be difficult but we’re doing what we can do,” Townsend said. “My thing is to take care of my business, but I also want to take care of the community.”
Cheddars Scratch Kitchen in Pasadena was working with a “bare bones” staff, according to manager Amber Harvey. While customers were seated on a first-come-first-serve basis, the restaurant, adhering to the 25 percent capacity rule, was allowing diners to be seated at 16 tables strategically spaced more than 6 feet apart. Diners were given numbers and asked to wait in vehicles for tables to be ready.
“We (staff) are in constant communication about how many guests are in the building at one time,” Harvey said.
The restaurant is also taking extra steps to minimize contact with all objects inside the dining area.
“Our tables are bare. Unless you ask for it, we’re not going to bring it out,” Harvey said. “We don’t want to be a cause of spread of germs, and our wait staff is trained to type in credit cards right now versus sliding them through a machine.”
The restaurant will continue to offer curbside services.
“We’re really seeing this as a trial run because we’re waiting to see what our community wants to do,” Harvey said. “People have been really curious about what precautions we’re taking and we’re just being very transparent with our guests.”
Like the Music Factory, La De Da, a women’s lingerie shop in Webster, was taking appointments since reopening, limiting the number of customers to two at a time and wiping down everything as a new customers entered.
The shop sells specialty lingerie, including customized bras for breast cancer survivors, to a loyal clientele.
Business on Friday and Saturday was steady if not up to normal, but that was expected, said assistant manager Kathy Contreras.
“The resuscitation of a business takes a little while, but it’s getting there,” she said. “I know there are still people staying home …that’s going to make a difference, but it’s going to come together eventually.”
La De Da prides itself on its loyal client base and small-business feel, but one of the side effects of a pandemic, said Contreras, will be the trepidation when unfamiliar faces walk through the door.
“It’s the people we’ve never seen before that we’re going to be wary of,” she said.
Baytown Mall is scheduled to open Tuesday. The Macroplaza Mall on Pasadena’s north side reopened May 1, and according to spokesperson, Maria Garza, management had left it up to tenants whether to open their doors to customers or not.
James Conner, a manager at the Finish Line in the mall, said his store was as busy as it could be at 25 percent.
Following face mask and 6-foot distancing protocol, customers seemed to glad to be there, Conner said.
But the rest of the mall, he said, was like a ghost town.
“Most businesses are still closed, so it’s been pretty quiet,” Conner said.
Champs, another sneaker chain at Macroplaza, continued to offer curbside services while remaining closed to customers until further notice, according to a store employee.
Even with the order allowing them to reopen, business was not as usual for most. After nearly two months without her primary income and without online services, Nancy Romualdo, owner of Andrea’s Bridal in Pasadena, was relieved to be back at work.
“She’s really excited and grateful to be able to open back up,” said her daughter, Valeria Romualdo.
May is normally a bustling month for the formal dress shop, with senior prom and summer wedding catalogues crammed with orders and reservations.
Fittings used to be family affairs but for now are limited to two family representatives per senior, bride-to-be or dama (quinceañera). With bottles of sanitizer on hand, Romualdo, her mother and another employee kept their masks on and required guests to follow suit.
As of Saturday afternoon, the shop took had taken in a modest flow of customers, and according to Romualdo, the normally celebratory spirit in her mother’s shop was muted.
“It’s been slow…I think people are still nervous and scared, but hopefully it’ll get better,” she said. “There’s always a risk, but we know we’re being careful and doing the right things, so I think we’re going to be okay.”
To Townsend, who hadn’t even turned on the ‘open’ sign yet at the Music Factory, the reopening isn’t an invitation to open the floodgates, he said, but to get back to work while evaluating and remaining conscious of the risks. The weekend was a litmus test, he said.
“I’m know that I’m being safe, and I hope we all (businesses) do this safely,” Townsend said. “We stayed closed to protect the community and now that we’re opening up, I’m still sticking with that same mentality. This reopening needs to happen slowly — and patience is a virtue.”
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Houston area shops try to strike the right chord with reopening amid pandemic protocols - Houston Chronicle
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