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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Guests at the Riverchase Galleria enter and exit through different doors and are given hand sanitizer upon entrance to Belk on May 14. The Riverchase Galleria reopened May 4 after being closed for several weeks amid the stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
A sign reads “Table closed. Thank you! Sorry! For your and our safety!” as the table is stacked with chairs and a floor mat to prevent customers from using the space at Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que in the Patton Creek shopping center May 14.
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Photo by Jon Anderson.
Tiffany Pilleteri gives a haircut to John Porter of Hoover at The Male Room barbershop in the Inverness Corners shopping center in Hoover on May 4 despite a state health order that prohibited at that time the operation of certain close-contact service providers such as barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and massage businesses.
As soon as Gov. Kay Ivey gave businesses the green light to reopen their doors, many in Hoover were eager to jump at the chance to get revenue flowing again with social distancing guidelines in place.
Losing a month or two of revenue can have serious consequences.
But with many public health officials still wary about the prevalence of the COVID-19 disease, some businesses took a slower approach, waiting a week or more after they were allowed to open to actually do so.
Some took extra time to get their facilities sanitized and to figure out a plan to try to keep both customers and employees safe. Some restaurants, even though they were allowed to open their dining rooms, chose to stick with curbside service and delivery a little longer.
Even though most business doors are now open and credit card machines are beginning to chime, it could take a while for the economy to fully recover, business leaders say.
Mike White, general manager for the Riverchase Galleria, said as of mid-May, about 67 percent of the Galleria’s inline tenants were open, and half a dozen or more were planning to open soon.
Those that remained closed were mostly national retailers that were evaluating health conditions and restrictions in multiple states and trying to reopen all stores in various regions at the same time, White said.
Traffic in the mall was about 40 percent of what it normally is this time of year, but White said he was pleasantly surprised at how business was going.
“Belk opened up to just incredible sales,” White said. “They had a really good opening.” Macy’s sales also have been better than expected, he said.
A big factor in lackluster crowds is consumer confidence, with people concerned about their own income, as well as staying healthy.
“It’s just a matter of people getting comfortable getting back out,” White said. “It’s a difficult time for everybody to process everything. We’re all in a new frame of mind.”
At the Galleria, his focus is on controlling what he can control, he said. He feels like his staff has done a good job of providing a clean place for people to shop and ways for them to protect themselves and others as they do, he said.
Extra sanitation measures are in place, and there are signs directing people to where they can sit or walk and avoid unwanted contact with others, he said. Additionally, Galleria security staff have masks available for any customers who want them, he said. As of mid-May, they had given out more than 3,000 masks.
INGENUITY
Cardell Davis, a vice president with the eds-America retail development company that is managing The Village at Brock’s Gap, said the tenants in that shopping center have been very resilient and were creative in finding ways to generate business even when they couldn’t allow customers inside.
Burn Boot Camp held virtual classes for its customers, and the owner of the fitness center held a “social distancing ice cream party” for at least 75 kids of its customers from another tenant in the center, The Whole Scoop ice cream shop. Burn Boot Camp also gave out gift certificates from other tenants in the center, such as CakEffect and Santos Coffee.
“They are really doing whatever they can do to keep their doors open and to maintain jobs,” Davis said.
Davis, whose wife owns and runs CakEffect, said her business was about 30 percent off its regular level, but even in tough times, he was encouraged by all the out-of-the-box thinking.
Also, more tenants who have signed contracts to come into the center have continued with their construction plans, and work is continuing on an 11,000-square-foot outparcel building that is at least 60 percent leased, Davis said. Offices affiliated with UAB Medical West will take up the majority of the space there, he said. “We are super excited about that space.”
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Matt Sterley, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel, said the hotel industry took a huge hit with the COVID-19 shutdown as individuals and businesses suspended travel plans.
His hotel has a lot of meeting space, and many companies and associations that typically use that space have put gatherings on hold, he said. Hotels in Hoover also have lost business because of the sporting events and tournaments that were canceled or postponed, he said.
Overall, he’s still optimistic for hotels in Hoover and Jefferson County, he said. Some of their clients are rescheduling for the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021, but it’s hard to know how long it will take for travel to regain its steam, he said.
The year 2021 likely will be a rebuilding year for the corporate side of the hotel business, Sterley said.
But even when business does come back, there likely will be differences in the way it is conducted, he said. Self-serve breakfast buffets and buffet tables for meetings may be a thing of the past, he said.
Also, if social distancing requirements stay in place, his hotel’s meeting rooms could seat only about one-third the number of people as usual, he said.
Restaurants that rely heavily on buffets also could be impacted. The state’s health order that was still in place when this edition went to press still prohibited self-serve buffets, salad bars and self-serve beverage stations.
Pizza Hut, which gets most of its dining room business from buffets these days, was still evaluating whether it would reopen its dining rooms even if government restrictions were lifted, said Joey Icolano, the pizza chain’s regional manager for 72 restaurants in north and central Alabama and parts of Mississippi.
The pizza chain nationally had reopened only 35 of its dining rooms as of May 20, and that was on a trial basis, Icolano said.
Ellie Taylor, president of the Alabama Grocers Association, said the grocery business could see some limitations due to a slowdown in production at some meat processing plants. Poultry looks good, but beef and pork could be some problem areas, she said during a Hoover town hall meeting sponsored by the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce in early May.
She also predicted continued heavy use of delivery services such as Instacart and Shipt.
CITY FACILITIES
Meanwhile, the city of Hoover on May 12 began gradually reopening some of the city facilities that had been closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The indoor track at the Finley Center was among the first places to reopen, followed by certain parts of the Hoover Recreation Center.
On May 18, the Hoover Public Library began allowing patrons to return books and other materials that had been checked out more than two months ago and planned to begin dispersing materials to patrons via curbside service June 1.
As part of the sanitation process, all items returned to the library were to be quarantined for three to seven days before being put back on the shelves for other patrons to check out.
In the meantime, the library has continued to offer online services and materials, including programs, storytimes and book discussion clubs. The library has a calendar of all virtual offerings at hooverlibrary.org and encourages people to follow the library on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to stay up to date on all library events.
The library also has digital materials, such as e-books, music and movies, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through platforms such as Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy and RBdigital.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said that as city facilities and businesses begin to reopen, it’s important for people to continue following essential health guidelines, such as social distancing, hand washing and staying home if they don’t feel well.
“Every small step we take brings us closer to where we’d like to be,” Brocato said. “It takes all of us working together to get there. I’m confident that we can do that. We still have a good bit of road to travel, so let’s all continue to do our part to keep our community open and safe.”
