GREEN SHOOTS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
IT WAS BACK TO BUSINESS although not quite as usual for garden centres and hardware stores as phase one of Ireland’s lifting of lockdown restrictions began last week.
Customers from within a five kilometre radius were delighted to be able to once again browse the collection of new stock, colourful plants and a mixed range of garden equipment on offer.
During the lockdown St Aidan’s Garden Centre in Gorey had been taking online orders, while Springmount Garden Centre in Ballycanew was preparing to open its doors again under new social distancing restrictions.
Elaine Warren of Springmount thanked the public for respecting the new regulations during the first week of reopening.
‘Our special hours were a great success and we thank everyone for respecting the need to give space and time to those who need it.
‘We have been so busy behind the scenes over the last few weeks to ensure that we can open in a way that is safest for our customers and our team. As this is new to us all, we will be assessing at the end of each day what works and what doesn’t work in order to keep everyone safe. As we learn, we will adapt to make shopping here as safe, efficient and enjoyable as possible,’ she said.
A spokesperson for St Aidan’s Garden Centre thanked everyone for their support during the lockdown.
Gorey hardware stores Choice and Spice have welcomed the easing of restrictions as more customers came back to their stores.
When entering Spice, one must use the hand sanitiser and gloves provided before they start their shopping and within the last week both home supplies like indoor and outdoor paint as well as garden plants proved popular.
For Choice, it was the outdoor furniture that was in demand to make those May evenings out the back garden that bit more comfortable.
In particular people were keen to get their hands on some outdoor swimming pools and barbecue sets as we prepare for a different type of summer.