CULLMAN, Ala. – Local retailers were given the green light Tuesday morning by Governor Kay Ivey to reopen their doors beginning Thursday, April 30 at 5 p.m.
Under the State’s new Safer at Home Order, retailers can open, but must follow the following rules:
- Emergency maximum occupancy rate. Occupancy shall be limited to no more than 50% of the normal occupancy load as determined by the fire marshal. This “emergency maximum occupancy rate” shall be posted in a conspicuous place, and enough staff shall be posted at the store entrances and exits to enforce this requirement.
- Social distancing. An employee of the retail store may not knowingly allow customers or patrons to congregate within 6 feet of one another.
- Sanitation. The retail store shall take reasonable steps to comply with guidelines on sanitation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“the CDC”) and the Alabama Department of Public Health.
This was great news to the business owners The Tribune spoke to in Cullman’s Warehouse District following the governor’s press conference. They were busy making the necessary preparations for what they hope will be the first step towards business as usual.
Stevie Whitney, owner of O-Baby Children’s Boutique, is beyond happy to be able to open her doors to customers Thursday.
“I’ve been down here almost every day filling orders,” she said. “Thank God I had a website. It’s still nothing like being open.”
Besides the retail space, O-Baby also has a space for baby showers.
Whitney said, “A lot of people just canceled their baby showers.”
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic becoming a health concern, Whitney said she already went to great lengths to keep her retail store clean and sanitized. Even so, they have made a few more changes to help keep their customers safe.
She explained, “We try to keep it clean anyways. We were Lysoling, wiping down doors and rails. We have one pen so if someone uses it, we sanitize it and put it back. They aren’t touching the keypad like at Wal-Mart.”
Whitney had recently moved O-Baby to the former Mae’s Food Hall space and the drop-in business was especially difficult, but due to online sales and Tuesday’s news she sighed, “We are going to make it!”
She continued, “My biggest concern is all the people who aren’t able to go back to work.”
O-Baby could allow 75 people inside to shop based on the 50% occupancy restriction, but Whitney has chosen to set the number at 20. She will have gloves for customers to wear if they so choose. She has the floor marked every 6 feet to help customers stay mindful of their distance from others.
She added, “I ask if you are sick to please not come into the store and to use our website.”
Across the street at Monograms Plus, owner Lynsey Todd and her staff were also preparing for the re-opening.
“I think people want to get out and do something different,” said Todd. “We were told we could do 50% of occupancy. Our number is really high because we have a large store so we are actually lessening that to 10 at a time. We’ll only have one door open at a time versus most of our doors just so we can keep up with people going in and out.”
They are also ready with Lysol and hand sanitizer to wipe everything down throughout.
During the restrictions, Monograms Plus has tried to keep busy.
Todd said, “My staff has been back for the last two weeks. We’ve had a lot of social media sales and phone sales. We sell on Facebook and Instagram. We’ve done Facetime sales and a ton of texting.”
Monograms continued to provide curbside pickup.
Despite finding innovative ways to survive, Todd said, “It’s still nowhere near what we typically do. Especially leading into Mother’s Day. That’s one of our biggest holidays.”
Also re-opening Thursday are Platform and J K Taylor. Owner Rita Dean and her staff were also busy and excited about the news of Ivey’s loosening of restrictions.
Dean said, “We will open (Thursday) at 5 p.m. and we will stay until 8 p.m. We are disinfecting EVERYTHING. We’ve got hand sanitizer on hand. We do want to social distance. We have a lot more square footage here (Platform) than we do at J K Taylor so we are allowing 10 people at a time over here, which we could get away with more than that. I think to be safe I would like to say 10 people and five over at J K Taylor.”
There will be a few incentives and sales, but Dean said, “We are trying to think about that carefully because all our sale items are on one rack and we just want one person at a time shopping on those racks.”
Dean said she has been following all the suggestions including making sure she is the only person opening packaging as it is delivered.
She added, “We will follow suit with whatever Governor Ivey suggests. If it means wearing masks, that’s what we will do. If it means wearing gloves, that’s what we will do of course. We have been educating ourselves on the difference between cleaning v. disinfecting, and we want to make sure we do both. Certainly, the high-traffic places that are touched like the doorknobs, the dressing rooms, all the iPads and all the phones and stuff like that. Just being diligent about cleaning and that’s all we know to do.”
Dean and the staff at Platform have also been busy while the store has been closed.
Dean explained, “We kept our online sales going. The doors have been closed and locked the whole time. My girls have been working and steadily putting things on Instagram and Facebook to keep our customer base alive and watching what we are putting up. Our online sales have very much increased, but it’s still just a fraction of what it would be if our doors had been open. We’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
Dean has remained optimistic throughout the Stay at Home Order.
She said, “I am a teacher and that’s my first occupation, but I am retired. So, my stores are just a blessing really from God above and this is my happy place. I am just thankful people come and shop with us, and every purchase made is just a blessing. I am not going to knock Wal-Mart or anybody else that’s open. I’m just thankful that they are there, and I hope that everybody will be able to open their doors when this is all over. I don’t want to see anybody close down at all.”
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