One of the major concerns Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves had about his decision to allow retail stores to reopen was whether retailers could ensure social distancing.
Among the governor’s orders were restrictions on how many customers could be allowed in a store at any given time. Reeves set the threshold at 50-percent capacity.
On Tuesday afternoon, none of the handful of retailers who had chosen to reopen in Starkville and Columbus had any trouble enforcing that rule.
Rebecca Kraker, owner and, for now, sole employee of R. Tabb & Co., a women’s apparel and gift shop store on Main Street in Starkville, stood on the threshold of her store at about 3:30 p.m., debating whether to call it a day.
Kraker hasn’t been open for regular business hours since mid-March. In the interim, she’s made some sales over the phone or through social media, filling orders that can be picked up curbside. While the governor’s order allows Kraker to resume “normal” operations, she isn’t sure she’ll adopt a “business-as-usual” approach.
“I haven’t had anyone come in off the street yet today,” she said. “I’m going to see how it goes this week and next week. When people are broke, I’m not going to sit up here seven hours a day and wait for somebody to just walk in off the street.”
Only a handful of retail stores in Columbus and Starkville appear to have taken advantage of the governor’s decision.
In Starkville, George-Mary’s, a dress shop/boutique across the street from R. Tabb & Co., was open, as was George Sherman’s, a men’s apparel store on Russell Street. While in Columbus, Main Street businesses remained shuttered, although three “big box” retailers had resumed business.
Hobby Lobby, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Michael’s were open for business, but even with reduced staffing, employees outnumbered customers at all three stores Tuesday. Managers at the stores referred all questions to their corporate offices, none of which responded to requests for interviews.
Alesia Lucas, owner of George-Mary’s, opened her store for the first time since March on Tuesday.
“We’ve actually been busy for a Tuesday,” she said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I think maybe people are ready to get out a little more.”
For Lucas, the decision to reopen was a little complicated.
“I work full time at (Mississippi State), so this is my side gig,” she said. “Before, I had eight employees. All of them were (college) students. So when school shut down, they went home.”
Lucas hopes that will soon change.
“I applied for all the funding under the programs out there for small businesses, but we were behind a little bit getting that going,” she said. “As soon as we get the funding, I’ll be bringing some of my staff back.”
Until then, Lucas is opening the store for reduced hours — noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
“We’re ready for things to get back to normal a little bit,” she said. “We have our hand sanitizers and we’re telling everybody they have to wear masks. Other than that, all I need are customers.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Related Photos
Alesia Lucas, owner of George-Mary's, a women's dress shop and boutique in Starkville, opened her store for the first time since March on Tuesday. She said she was pleasantly surprised by sales "for a Tuesday." Photo by: Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff
A tent with "We're Open" signs at Dick's Sporting Goods on Highway 45 in Columbus alerts potential customers the store is open or the first time since March on Tuesday. Retail stores were allowed to open under the governor's new "Safer at Home" orders as of Monday, but traffic has been slow so far. Photo by: Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff
