HOPES, WORRIES FOR STORES
Some can reopen on Tuesday, but with major changes to operations
Expect a different store on Tuesday when Al Anderson’s Source for Sports ends the longest stretch its doors have been closed in its 65 years.
The Riversdale sporting goods store closed in the third week of March, when the Saskatchewan government forced many businesses to shutter their physical locations to prevent the spread of COVID -19.
The Saskatoon store laid off 22 staff, but three partners and two other employees kept the longtime sporting fixture operating at about five or six per cent of its usual business, selling goods remotely with pickups outside the store.
Sporting goods stores like Anderson’s are among the businesses that are allowed to open on Tuesday in the second phase of the provincial government’s plan to gradually reopen businesses.
“It’s not going to be business as usual when we open,” general manager John Linklater said. “We’re going to err on the side of being super-cautious.”
The store has rehired five fulltime employees and two part-timers for a drastically altered store to ensure safety for customers and staff. The returning staff started on Wednesday to install Plexiglas at sales counters and prepare the store with floor stickers to remind people to keep two metres apart and.
The store won’t open until 11 a.m. daily so it can be cleaned and sanitized each morning, and only seven to nine customers will be allowed inside at a time.
Employees will wear masks and shields, and disposable masks will be available for customers, who will be discouraged from handling multiple products.
People trying on skates will be required to wear a mask, since this requires interaction between customer and employee within two metres, Linklater said.
Even with all these measures, Linklater is keeping expectations low, since the store relies on team sports, which are forbidden under the 10-person limit for gatherings.
“We’re not expecting a huge increase in business,” he said.
Silvia Martini, interim chief executive of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, said she has heard of no major issues from the first phase of reopening, which allowed health services such as dentists and physiotherapists to resume operating.
Martini said some personal-care providers, such as hairstylists, who are permitted to on open Tuesday, remain “quite concerned.” Some salons lack sufficient space for distancing and others have not acquired protective gear and will not open as a result, she said.
The co-operation and generosity in the business community has been “phenomenal,” Martini said.
“The tsunami water hasn’t receded yet, but we are preparing for that.”
Martini said she could not estimate how many eligible businesses plan to open on Tuesday.
Keith Moen, executive director of the North Saskatoon Business Association, said he’s hearing a wide variety of opinions on the second phase.
Moen acknowledged some businesses are “anxious” about the reopening.
Martini echoed that, saying safety is still the most important factor.
“We don’t want to see a second wave of COVID-19 come through Saskatchewan and Saskatoon,” she said. “We’re a long way from business as usual.”
Moen noted many businesses will be spending more money to comply with safety rules, but the extent to which customers will return remains unknown.
Both Moen and Martini suggested the third phase, which has not yet had a date attached, could happen at the end of the month if all goes well with the second phase. The third reopening phase includes restaurants, bars, gyms and personal-care services like manicurists.
“We want to see this economy go, and the sooner the better,” Moen said.
Brent Penner, executive director of the Downtown Saskatoon business improvement district (BID), confirmed the province’s largest mall, Midtown Plaza, with 92 stores and 17 food outlets, will open on Tuesday. That includes The Bay department store.
The Centre on its website confirmed it will reopen Tuesday and its stores “will open gradually.” The mall will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., although hours and guidelines may differ among outlets.
Lawson Heights Mall, Confederation Mall and Market Mall each announced they too will reopen Tuesday. Lawson Heights and Confederation will operate daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., while Market Mall plans hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Some stores at each mall may operate under different hours.
In an email, Penner said he thinks many downtown businesses are getting ready to open on Tuesday, but he was unable to provide exact numbers. The downtown BID has been providing floor stickers and plastic counter-barriers for businesses on a cost-shared basis, he said.
Deeann Mercier, executive director of the Broadway BID, said most eligible retail, massage therapy and hair salons in the district plan to open on Tuesday.
Randy Pshebylo, executive director of the Riversdale BID, said some businesses will open on Tuesday, while others will wait and see.
“They’re leery, but they want to do business.”