Popup shop for masks, sanitizers

WASHINGTON — The nation’s capital has popup shops for food and drink, even marijuana. And now, coronavirus prevention supplies.

As local stores sell out of masks and hand sanitizer, Adilisha Patrom, owner of a co-working and event space next to Gallaudet University, saw an opportunity.

Inside her storefront, face masks and hand sanitizer bottles in various sizes are displayed along a stack of information sheets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Florida native who came to Washington to attend Howard University, Patrom, 29, sells her masks for between $5 and $20, depending on the model. She also makes prevention kits with masks, surgical gloves and sanitizer, which sell for $20 to $30.

The high-end N95 masks are priced at about twice what they sell for on Amazon. But Patrom says her goal isn’t to get rich. Rather, she sees the shop as a service to the community and says discounts are available to those in need and to senior citizens, who are most vulnerable.

“I just feel so blessed to HAVE, just to have the ability,” to stock up on supplies, she said.

The idea started with a health crisis in her own family: Patrom’s father was diagnosed with a blood cancer in November. With her father’s immune system weakened by ongoing chemotherapy treatments, Patrom bought boxes of N95 face masks, which are considered superior to the basic surgical masks.

As the global coronavirus death toll increased and the virus began making inroads in the U.S., Patrom decided to stock up on hand sanitizers and open her shop. So far, Patrom said, she has made only three sales since opening last week. The majority of her visitors, she says, are just seeking basic information and walking away with a CDC fact sheet.