As West gets back to business
this morning have told me how much they’ve missed the gym for their sanity and their mental health. It shows how important the gym is for people.”
While the pandemic has accelerated the trend of people shopping online, that isn’t necessarily a viable option for all retailers.
Many of the small businesses at Eastgate Market in Gloucester were delighted to reopen and start earning some income yesterday.
Zouhaier Kahla, owner of Kalamata Ethena Shope, said: “I am very, very happy but a little bit sad because of the death of Prince Philip. I am happy because I am starting back at work.
“I am not lazy, I do not like staying at home, I need work! I need work to live; no money, no honey.
“For the past few months, I have been staying at home helping my wife doing the garden and painting the house.
“I have been very worried because all the money I saved I have spent.
“The grant was not enough because I needed new stock.
“With all the new stock I had to get, it was like starting a new business.”
Butchers Steve Brewster and Andy Bowley are back to working a full week at their shop after working in a van in Westbank Car Park at weekends and other places during lockdown as restrictions closed the indoor market.
Mr Brewster, of A.P. Meats Ltd in Eastgate Market, said: “We are glad to be open to serve all our regular customers. Nice to get back to some sense of normality. This is going to be the new normal for quite a while.”
Back in Bristol, Gastro Vinyl record shop on Park Row was among the non-essential retailers reopening yesterday. Owner Alex Reed has been doing temporary work at the Royal Mail centre in Severn Beach, but he’s hoping he can get enough business through the door to fully focus on his shop now.
He said: “There are thousands of records in this tiny space, some of them rare.”
Mr Reed, 44, says many people who walk in say they never knew the hidden gem existed, despite first opening three and a half years ago.