‘For my sanity, 10 people is max’
Small business owners in Cedarburg weigh public health with economic need as they reopen
Cedarburg businesses, along with many others across Wisconsin, had been shuttered for about two months over concerns of the coronavirus pandemic.
But last week, the state Supreme Court shot down Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order that kept many non-essential businesses closed or restricted. Now no statewide regulations are in place closing stores or enforcing capacity limits and other health protocols.
The order ultimately left the decision on when and how to reopen up to local entities and individual businesses.
Debbie Lauer, who owns the home decor store Up The Creek in downtown Cedarburg, said her cousin called her Wednesday and told her she could open after the court decision.
“I was like ‘Really, right now?’ It was a whole weird feeling because it’s like ‘Oh my gosh, I can open,’ which was a wonderful feeling but brought a whole different form of stress,” she said.
She got to work coronavirus-proofing the store. Lauer added new marks on the floor to help customers maintain six feet of separation. Visitors are encouraged to use sanitizer before touching items and to wear masks, though that is not required.
She is limiting store capacity to five people for now but said she might increase that to 10 this weekend.
“For my sanity, 10 people is max for me,” Lauer said. “I honestly don’t think there will be more people than that, but it would be a nice problem to have.”
Even though business regulations in Cedarburg are the same as they were before COVID-19, business owners and consumers are not the same.
“Our biggest concern is that they won’t come in and, with the way the economy is, if they do come in, will they spend any money?” she said.
Holistic health and decor store Sissy & Me (next door to Up The Creek) is taking more precautions.
During the quarantine, Sissy & Me owner Toni Murrenus and her daughter Jessica found that curbside business was a good alternative.
The store was open last weekend, but only six customers came inside.
While the business was closed, they set up an honor system for curbside items so customers could purchase an item and leave money or a check in an unmanned cash box.
“The problem was we had just ordered our spring and summer outdoor decor, and it was going to be a total loss if we didn’t do something,” Murrenus said. “A few people gave themselves a sale. We kind of expected that, but the loss was just under $50 of what it would have been.”
Murrenus will continue to depend on curbside sales, although she will be at the store more often to let people inside if they ask and to make credit card transactions.
“We have not really opened doors,” she said.
“Maybe we’re going to have to map out and put the tape on the floor where people should stand and hold it to five or under in the store, because it’s not very big.”
Murrenus said it is hard to figure out what to do with the varying reactions to coronavirus among the community.
“Some people just don’t worry about it. They’re not nervous or scared, and others are very conscious, and I don’t see too many in the middle,” she said. “I’m just not really sure what I’m supposed to do.”
The Cedarburg Toy Co., at W62 N583 Washington Ave., did not reopen right away but will allow customers inside beginning Memorial Day weekend.
The slow reopening was in part because owner Natasha Loos took time to add features to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and she has been busy turning her business space back into a storefront after it was transformed to a warehouse for online sales.
The two-month closure actually created a silver lining for Loos, who had time to set up an online toy shop for the first time. Her sales only declined a small amount compared to normal.
“I don’t want to sound insensitive to people who struggled more than we did in the shutdown, but in many ways, it turned out to be positive for our business,” Loos said. “March, April and May aren’t the busiest months, so we know not to expect huge sales during that time, and being closed to the public allowed us to get some things done.”
Like her neighboring businesses, she plans to have hand sanitizer stations and reduced capacity.
“The virus will be with us for some time, so we have to figure out how to be comfortable with customers in the store,” she said. “If you’re in retail, you just have to figure out how to get there.”