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Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 11:11 AM EDT May 16, 2020
With the coronavirus taking an enormous bite out of retail – April sales plummeted a record 16%, according to a Commerce Department report Friday ‒ store owners know they have to figure out how to reopen and at the same time keep themselves and shoppers safe.
As one would expect, it involves a lot of social distancing and hand sanitizer.
Customers, meanwhile, have to decide if they’re ready to shop again. Some are raring to go and others plan to wait.
Donna Holewinski was one of the Appleton residents who headed downtown midweek after the state said small shops could reopen with limitations.
She found just one of her favorites, Lillians of Appleton, was open. Walking into the store, she said, was an uplifting experience.
“It was an overwhelming feeling of relief that maybe things were getting back to normal,” she said.
Other shoppers said they’ll stay hunkered down at home.
They want assurances that stringent safety measures are in place before they shop.
“I am concerned as to what, if anything, these businesses will be doing in terms of safety for their employees and customers,” said Jennifer Lee Edmondson, who said she has to be careful because of health concerns for herself and others she cares for.
At Lillians of Appleton, owner Kara Manuel said the store will still have limits on the number of shoppers who can be inside at a time even though statewide rules were voided.
“This week has been a roller coaster of what you can and can not do,” she said. “We are going to allow 10 at a time. We feel we can still safety do that being that we really have two (connected) stores.”
In Neenah, Red Door Mercantile posted on Facebook a lengthy list of protocols both staff and customers will follow, including mandatory masks.
Owner Tina Palmer has allowed pickups, and will reopen the store to customers Tuesday in this phase she calls the “temporary new normal.”
Skittish customers can still use curbside pickup, as they have for the past two months, and follow her Facebook shopping videos.
“Life doesn’t stop. They still need things. I want to be there for them,” she said.
“Our local community has tried to be supportive and it’s made a world of difference,” Palmer said. “It’s allowed us to pay our rent.”
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or mwallenfang@postcrescent.com. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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