San Francisco stores reopen to customers, but most see sparse crowds of shoppers.
San Francisco’s retailers reopened their doors, literally, on Monday — allowing customers inside for the first time in three months. But shoppers remained sparse, as people continued to stay home as broader shelterinplace orders remain in place.
David and Shlomit Heller, coowners of Beauty Network, a beauty supplies store on Geary Boulevard in the Richmond, gave their first instore shopper a raucous cheer when they opened shop at 10:30 a.m.
“We startled him, but we were so happy to see him,” said David Heller of the customer who came to buy shampoos for his two daughters. “He’s one of our regulars and it was nice to see him again. It gave us a sense of normalcy.”
Stores deemed nonessential, like clothing, toys, jewelry, shoe and bookstores, have been eager to reopen and no longer rely fully on curbside pickup or online sales, which not all small businesses have. But sporadic foot traffic on Monday suggests most people
continue to stay home amid the pandemic.
Only a small number of customers showed up at Stonestown Galleria around midday Monday. The mall’s hours have been reduced to allow for intense cleaning, according to Darren Iverson, a spokesman for the mall. Masks will be provided upon customer request, and stores are limiting capacity and implementing social distancing and safety procedures.
In the Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood, only one customer had showed up by midday Monday at Atelier Yarns on Divisadero Street, which was decked out with balloons to showcase its opening.
“It’s hard to reopen and not have anybody out,” said Atelier Yarns owner Amanda Madlener. “The health of our community and staff is important, and we’re figuring out a way on
“It’s hard to reopen and not have anybody out.” Amanda Madlener, Atelier Yarns owner
how to operate effectively.”
For now, there’s a doorbell and markings to help customers to line up 6 feet apart outside the 700squarefoot store. The inside has been rearranged to limit customers and manage flow, among other measures. Madlener said sales have been 25% of normal since March. Staffing has also declined.
The pandemic and shelterinplace orders have battered the Bay Area economy, which has had more than 136,000 layoffs in three months, according to a Chronicle analysis. Over 15,000 were retail workers, though many cuts were classified as temporary. Business owners are unsure how many workers they can rehire if sales remain slow.
Retail was already a struggling industry, and San Francisco’s retail vacancies were rising before the pandemic. National sales plunged by record levels in April.
It may be several more months before the pandemic’s impact on city stores can be fully measured, in permanent closures and bankruptcies, according to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
“Small businesses are grappling with longterm questions: Will there be customers when they reopen? Where is the economy heading? How will the new social distancing protocols impact them?” said Jay Cheng, policy director at the chamber of commerce.
He said these were some questions that may determine how many storefronts are able to reopen, when they’ll reopen, or if some businesses are forced to close permanently.
In San Jose’s Westfield Valley Fair, hundreds of shoppers were expected, NBC reported.
Over in the HaightAshbury neighborhood, Christin Evans, owner of Booksmith, said she had a customer at 11 a.m. when the store opened on Monday.
“Last year at this time, we would have massive amounts of tourists and people on summer break streaming in,” she said. In the past three months, she’s had to let go of some employees and now has about five to six fulltime staff, around half of February’s count. Most of the store’s customers are now locals, which thrills Evans, but sales are nowhere what it used to be. But she’s looking forward to reopening.
“I’m excited to welcome our community back into our shop. It’s longawaited,” she said.