Santa Clara County will join the rest of the Bay Area on Friday in allowing shops to resume business on a very limited basis. But don’t count on your favorite store rushing to throw the doors open.
Four days after the rest of the region, Santa Clara County is loosening its coronavirus shelter-in-place order to permit curbside pickup at local stores — as well as sanctioning car parades and allowing outdoor museums, historical sites and public gardens to reopen. It’s a big step as the county makes progress in controlling its COVID-19 cases and attempts to boost its tanking economy while gradually returning to a semblance of normalcy.
The shutdown already has had a crushing economic impact — 4.5 million Californians have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March. But even so, local retailers have mixed emotions about reopening. Some worry that allowing customers to pick up orders in person presents logistical challenges, could put people at risk of getting sick, and isn’t likely to do much for their bottom line.
“I think it will help some, but I’m not going to kid myself,” said Judy Ohki, owner of Palo Alto boutique Leaf & Petal. “It’s not going to be what we’re used to.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed retailers in the rest of California to offer curbside pickup starting May 8, but San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda counties didn’t follow suit until this past Monday. Contra Costa County joined the pack Tuesday.
As of Thursday, 88,323 Californians had tested positive for COVID-19, and 3,599 had died of the virus, according to this news organization’s analysis of county data. In the Bay Area, 11,774 people had tested positive, and 418 had died. Santa Clara County hadn’t updated its numbers as of Thursday evening.
Bay Area shops that opened earlier this week reported mixed results after scrambling to figure out how to sell without letting people into their stores.
For Oaklandish, famous for its screen-printed Oakland-pride T-shirts, allowing customers to pick up orders in-person adds complexity but likely won’t boost sales, said CEO and Creative Director Angela Tsay. She’s been filling online delivery orders since the pandemic began and started offering curbside pickup as an option Wednesday. Customers who have pre-ordered items drive up to the Oaklandish warehouse in the Jack London District, pop their trunk and wait for an employee to place their order inside, or they walk or bike up to the door while wearing a mask.
But sales are down 75%, and until customers are able to come into her stores and browse, Tsay doesn’t see her numbers improving.
“Being able to offer curbside pickup is not any retail store’s salvation,” she said.
Green Apple Books in San Francisco started curbside pickup in two of its three stores Monday. It’s working, but it can be awkward, said co-owner Pete Mulvihill. When customers walk up and try to order books on the spot, employees have to send them away and tell them to order by phone or online — they aren’t set up for in-person orders right now.
“It’s been a little tricky to figure out how best to do this, but it’s nice to have staff back in the store,” Mulvihill said. “It’s really great to see regular customers again. I’ve seen a fair amount of people taking selfies and posting them on Instagram.”
Ohki also struggled to adapt to the new coronavirus business model. Before the pandemic, her women’s clothing boutique didn’t have a website that accepted online orders.
“It took quite a while to get it up and going, and it was very stressful,” she said. “But we did it.”
Yuri Kim, owner of plant and gift store
in downtown San Jose, will try opening for three hours on Friday, to see how it goes. She plans to let people stand on the sidewalk in front of her small shop and point at the items they want. Customers also will be able to pick up purchases they ordered online.
Though she’s hopeful the change will help prop up her struggling business, Kim, who has family members at high risk of having severe symptoms if they catch COVID-19, wonders if the county is moving too fast.
“It does worry me a little bit,” she said. “But I also understand that people really need to be able to come out again.”
Gussied Up Dog Boutique, in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, isn’t jumping at the chance to reopen — despite the fact that, as a pet store, it could have been open since the pandemic began. Instead, owner Kim Lipsett wants to take her time. She plans to open for curbside pickup in two or three-hour increments, a few days a week, for the next several weeks.
“Even though they’re excited about everybody opening for curbside pickup,” Lipsett said, “I think people are still a little bit apprehensive about coming out.”