It may be easy to mistake the lights coming back on in our downtown businesses as that light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. It is not.
Shuswap business owners are certainly aware we’re still in the midst of pandemic, with a rebound of the COVID-19 virus a possibility come fall.
Last week, several downtown Salmon Arm businesses had a cautious soft-reopening, letting customers back in their doors in varying capacity. But reminders of the pandemic remained front and centre, with various strategies employed in each business to protect the health and safety of staff and customers. Plexiglass partitions at cashier stations, face shields and masks for staff and customers, installation of hand sanitizing stations and limits to the number of customers allowed at one time, posted on doors and windows for the public to see, are all steps being taken to protect us all.
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But all of these precautions come at a cost, and for small businesses re-opening their doors now, after being closed for two months, that cost only further exacerbates what are already challenging times.
Needless to say, if ever there was a time to support/shop local, it’s now. Even if it’s for little things – a beverage, a bag of pet food, lunch or a haircut – it all helps to keep people working and, with the current situation, it helps your businesses keep the community safe.