‘I’ve never known a year like it’
THE Coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of everyone, both personally and financially - some temporarily but others forever. Twelve months on from the first lockdown, independent businesses in Grimsby and Cleethorpes are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After battling to keep their heads above water, they’re now hoping they can keep their doors open for good.
Even though businesses have been subsidised with Government grants, our local standalone stores have, in some cases, had the most difficult year of their lives.
While some have struggled to make it to the other end, others have used the opportunity to better themselves and their shop. Sports Traider, a recently opened charity shop in Freshney Place, has been shut for almost the entirety of lockdown, having only opened on September 25, 2020. Manager Gillian Warner said: “The past 12 months have been such a start-stop period. It was all going so well when we first opened, receiving donations and making money to donate to the community.
“Both myself and the staff were really happy to be getting started and then all of a sudden, we shut our doors. We’ve been keeping up with one another over messaging apps as a lot of the staff are vulnerable because they suffer with mental health issues.
“The shop helped to give them a happy day or moment when it was open so the fact it shut was a real struggle for some of them. “Telling he staff we’d be closing has been the most difficult part in all of this. For some of them, this is a huge part of their lives as well as their job.
“Normally, we train volunteers up and give them the skills to work in retail, but sadly we haven’t been able to do anything like that. It’s put all our plans back by quite a bit.
“Thankfully, myself and the assistant manger Kerry were on furlough and the charity topped our wages up, which we’re both incredibly thankful for.
“However, it does annoy me how little some
people seem to care about coronavirus. It’s upsetting to see people or groups walk in the shop with no masks on. We don’t have the power to enforce the mask wearing, we can only suggest they do.
“Another thing that has annoyed independent stores is how the big supermarkets can still sell the same products as us. They sell clothes like ourselves but we have to shut, it takes all the independents out the frame. “In my opinion, this needs to be stopped. It’s totally unfair, for some people this is how they feed their family, but the big companies can carry on as normal.”
Others, like Ann McClean, owner and director of The Emporium and Lovejoy’s on Sea View Street, believe that there are more important things than whether non-essential retail shops are open or closed.
“At the end of the day, we’re alive and so is our business, we’ll come out at the other end okay, but not everyone has. “My husband and I both had Covid in November and I’m still struggling with my taste and smell, but we’re still here.
“The past 12 months have been really difficult though. We got started up with The Emporium and then we had to shut our doors.
“In one way, lockdown was quite positive as everyone was at home and started redecorating. Because of this, Lovejoy’s [a painting and decorating shop] has thrived.”
For Lovejoy’s manager Ann Burnett, the past year has been incredibly hectic.
She said: “I’ve been looking after the family and home schooling and at the same time, I’ve been running around doing paint deliveries, It’s been a bit of a balancing act for me.”
Ann said there were other factors that have made the last 12 months so difficult as well. “My husband Steve got made redundant from his job which changed our lives immensely.
“It meant we had to be incredibly pragmatic with the businesses and we just got on with it. It’s been hard not having people seeing the shop for so long as well, we’ve done three or four window displays that no one’s even seen at this point.
“We’re really happy to be back and see customers again though. It’s brilliant to see them actually come through the doors rather than have to just look at the window. “Thankfully, the funding situation has been exemplary for us, it’s been a god send and an absolute life saver for everyone round here.
“I’ve been working here 28 years now and I’ve never known anything as strange or as hard as this past year, nothing compares to what we’ve experienced these last 12 months.”
For some, like those in hospitality, they’ve welcomed a return to trade this week as outdoor serving became legal once more. For Jo Cowan, owner of coffee shop Hideout in Cleethorpes, it’s been hard keeping her head above water since opening in August last year. “We’ve only been open properly for two months since we officially opened, so we’ve been shut longer than we’ve been open.
“It’s an incredibly frustrating situation, but you just do what you can with what we’ve got. We might only be half open, but something is better than nothing.
“Trying to stay motivated has been really hard also. People have been saying how much they’d love to just come and sit, but we have to keep telling them they’re not allowed.
“We had one lady who had a funny turn because all she wanted to do was sit down bless her. We’d love people come and sit outside, but if nothing else it’s just nice to see them out and about again.
“We’re just itching for the 17th of May now so we can get ourselves properly open. It was scary at the start for me as well, I kept thinking “god, what have I done?”, but we’re just taking it slowly but surely.
“My biggest issue is that people won’t come back to the high street. They’ve spent so long shopping online that their habits might have changed permanently.”