By Angie Ling
The day was March 13th, 2020. Most people were probably pretty happy—after all, word had just spread of the two-week hiatus from school, and at the time, it had seemed like little more than an extended spring break.
But then the weeks turned into months. And the months turned into, well, today. No one could have predicted what the current national landscape would look like on March 13th. The pandemic has been different for everyone in the past seven or so months, and everyone has struggled in some way. When taking a more in depth look into COVID-19’s impact, small businesses, in particular, have had to overcome numerous obstacles.
For practically every store in the area, business has seemingly taken a downhill trend during quarantine. Jen McPherson, the owner of the local gift shop McPherson Local, says that her shop—like many others—shut down for three months while Stay-at-Home orders were enforced. “We lost a lot of foot traffic from people coming into the store,” McPherson says. However, the store’s primary source of business during this time was online sales—which produced some surprising positives.
While Mcpherson Local certainly saw a decrease in physical shopping, thanks to many supportive customers, the store has also seen a significant increase in online shopping and social media activity. In many ways, the shop’s popularity has grown since the start of the pandemic. “We’ve really moved from being a brick-and-mortar store to an online business as well,” McPherson says, noting the more beneficial outcomes of the pandemic.
Now that the Stay-At-Home orders have lessened in severity, McPherson Local has taken these changes in stride. The store is now open for physical business but mainly reliant on curbside pick-up only. Along with changing the way products are sold, McPherson has also taken numerous other preventative measures to make sure the shop is clean, safe, and sanitized for customers.
Benny’s Bakery, another local business in Saline, has also experienced some dramatic changes due to the pandemic. Robin, a cake designer at the bakery, describes how the store dealt with the rollercoaster of events that accompanied quarantine. “In the beginning, business was pretty busy because we were one of the only places still making bread,” Robin says, describing how other stores like Busch’s and Wal-mart were often out of stock when it came to bread and other baked goods.
However, as people gradually adapted to life in quarantine, Benny’s also saw a decrease in customers and sales. “Business did get a little slow,” Robin says, but at the same rate as most of the other small businesses in Saline. Despite these difficulties, Benny’s, known for its baked goods and various seasonal treats, has continued to make delicious food for its loyal customers.
Carrigan Cafe, another local business in downtown Saline, saw similar impacts from the pandemic as well. Karen Carrigan, the owner of the cafe, says that sales were down “30-50 percent” some days, a similar experience with other stores in the area. Carrigan’s has also undergone some hefty changes in service and how the cafe is run. The cafe’s indoor seating was reduced to half of what it was before the pandemic, cleaning and sanitation regulations have dramatically increased, and the store’s stockpile of board games and puzzles is now closed off from any customer use.
There’s no doubt that these have certainly been difficult changes for the cafe. Karen, however, also describes some of the surprising positive outcomes that COVID-19 has produced. Firstly, she’s had a lot more time to “finetune hours” and make menu changes, which is always harder to come by in the cafe’s busier hours. The store has also seen an increase in customers, oddly for the same reasons why many customers are staying home instead. With more people working from home, many customers now seek the uniquely calm and quieter atmosphere that Carrigan Cafe provides for a change in scenery. With these developments, the cafe has also become part of a stronger bond within the community. As outdoor seating has become a safer alternative to indoor seating, Karen has noticed a sense of cooperation and solidarity between her and neighboring businesses. “With Smokehouse 52, they’ve let me use some of their outdoor umbrella seating,” she says. “Most of my customers are out at ten, then I reclean, and Smokehouse can use their seating.”
One of the largest overall impacts of the pandemic has been a decline in sales for local businesses, but some surprising positives have emerged from the haze of quarantine. That’s not to say that small businesses haven’t struggled significantly; small businesses make up some of the largest groups hit hardest by the pandemic. In times like these, it becomes even more crucial to visit stores that are part of one’s community, and McPherson Local, Benny’s Bakery, and Carrigan Cafe are all great places to start! Buy locally, support small businesses, and make sure to stay safe. We’re all in this together.
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