Quincy Market back in business
Landmark emerges from three-month virus lockdown
Quincy Market business operators are counting on local tourism to bolster a comeback for shops and restaurants devastated by the three-month coronavirus lockdown.
“We’re trying to get the locals … Right now, domestic and international tourism is down,” said Faneuil Hall Marketplace General Manager Joseph O’Malley. “The governor said New Englanders can travel to Massachusetts, so we’re appealing to you: come on down.”
Most of the historic marketplace’s restaurants and shops have been closed during the pandemic. During the surge of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, restaurants could only serve takeout, and retail shopping was out of the question.
Wednesday looked markedly different: Patrons sat at socially distanced tables outside Cheers and perused the reopened shopping carts and kiosks.
Lisa McGinley, who owns and operates two retail carts in the marketplace, said she made a sale almost immediately after reopening her musical gift kiosk “Musically
Yours” Wednesday morning.
“Honestly, I want to scream and jump up and down, I was so happy,” she said. “And the customers we served were local, which means they heard the news that we were reopening. That’s what we need to survive.”
Unlike some of the big chain retailers renting space in the area, push cart operators are independent businesses with no corporate backing. The shutdown was long and painful for McGinley, who had just launched a second cart in January.
“We’re on our own. When we first closed, I thought it was just going to be two weeks,” she said.
Three months later, she said she doesn’t expect the usual summer crowd of farflung tourists walking the Freedom Trail.
But her cart did draw the attention of tourist Elizabeth Bakhuzian, who traveled up from Florida for a friend’s wedding. She said she looked into Massachusetts’ regulations about going out in public during coronavirus recovery.
“We did our research before we came,” she said. “We knew that to be in the market, we had to wear a mask. I feel comfortable, it seems pretty calm.”
One aspect of the marketplace’s usual charm will be missing for the near future: street performances. Officials want to prevent crowds from congregating, so busking and performing are still off-limits.