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What It Takes to Reopen a Small Business Right Now - The New York Times

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Tiffany Turner had dinner recently in a restaurant — the first time in nearly three months. She was greeted by employees in cotton face masks and seated at a table that was a socially distanced six feet from any other. Her return-to-society meal? Caesar salad, mussels and clam chowder.

“The thing I was surprised by as a guest is that it was less awkward than I expected and more human energy than I expected,” Ms. Turner said. “People’s eyes are starting to tell a story more than they ever did.”

Credit...Celeste Noche for The New York Times

It was a reassuring experience. Ms. Turner was preparing to reopen Adrift Hospitality, her group of five boutique hotels, a restaurant and a distillery on the Oregon and Washington coasts. She wondered if people would return to public life and if there would be any sense of human connection.

That’s the same question other small-business owners are asking themselves as more states allow restaurants, offices and retail businesses to reopen after being closed, some for as long as three months, to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

The percentage of small businesses that were open in early June was nearly 16 points higher than it was in mid-April, according to Opportunity Insights, an economic tracker developed by researchers at Harvard using anonymized data from credit card processors, payroll firms and others.

But with a patchwork of rules and guidelines being issued at the city, county, state and federal levels, many employers find themselves wondering when it will be safe to open and how to make that choice — especially as some states are seeing an uptick in new cases of Covid-19.

Credit...Celeste Noche for The New York Times

Some businesses are taking a slow approach. At first, Chris Lynch and Michael Samer weren’t sure what to do about their ocean adventure tours business, Everyday California, when they got the go-ahead in late April.

“In the beginning, it was scary,” Mr. Samer said. “We wondered, ‘Do we even want to reopen?’”

But the two friends, who started the company in San Diego 10 years ago with just an iPad, an old truck and some kayaks, didn’t want to give up. They had been on a pace for a banner 2020: Sales were up 50 percent in the first two months, and March was looking just as good. And they realized the water might be one of the most socially distant places someone could be.

Mr. Lynch and Mr. Samer decided to reopen with curbside kayak and surf rentals only, keeping their retail shop and tour business closed. Then, as they felt more comfortable, they reintroduced tours at a 50 percent capacity with everyone wearing a mask. They also invested in their neglected online shop.

The bet paid off: They increased what had been a very small number of online merchandise sales by 750 percent in May, allowing them to bring back about 20 employees to help with shipping and marketing. So far, the best-selling items on the website have been hats.

“It might be because no one can get a haircut,” Mr. Samer joked.

Everyday California’s tours and rentals are booked, and sales have rebounded to about 50 percent of normal levels.

Credit...John Francis Peters for The New York Times

A slow rollout isn’t happening only in places, like California, that have been Covid-19 hot spots. In Montana, which has the fewest cases in the nation, some owners are also taking a wait-and-see approach.

Gov. Steve Bullock allowed bars and restaurants to reopen in early May with 50 percent capacity limits and layout restrictions, but Brett Evje held out until the end of the month before bringing customers back into Plonk, the New American-style restaurant he co-owns. It has locations in Bozeman and Missoula.

He used the downtime to refresh the Bozeman location, updating the HVAC system, installing new bar equipment and doing all of the projects he said could never complete with a restaurant open 365 days a year.

“Everybody wants to return back to normal, but from my standpoint you’re already closed, so you might as well wait and see what the reaction is going to be,” Mr. Evje said. “There’s nothing as hard as remobilizing and bringing everyone back and then having to close down again.”

Credit...Celeste Noche for The New York Times

Mr. Evje also wanted customers to have as normal an experience as possible, so he decided not to require masks for employees or patrons. Montana officials only recommend face coverings.

“Our customers were really excited that we weren’t making the experience awkward,” he said.

The cost of reopening is another challenge: With no revenue for months, small businesses must find ways to pay for the new sanitation regimens, thermometers, plexiglass, masks and other items necessary to open.

“None of the relief packages have included specific funding for safety retrofitting, purchasing of safety equipment or even helping business getting a handle on uniform P.P.E. for employees and customers,” said Amanda Ballantyne, executive director of the Main Street Alliance, an advocacy group for small business. “The lack of those things creates a disparate recovery kind of landscape.”

Staying open has been an expensive proposition for Hanover Co-op Food Stores. The company, which is owned by its 24,000 members, has been open throughout the pandemic as an essential business at four stores in Vermont and New Hampshire.

That has cost nearly $400,000, said Allan Reetz, the company’s director of public and government affairs. The biggest expense? Staffing. The co-op gave its 370 employees a bonus of $2 an hour and a cost-of-living increase in April. Other expenses included equipment, signage, communications and plexiglass dividers.

“We said, first and foremost, we need make sure that the employees understand that we will do everything within our power for their health and safety,” Mr. Reetz said. “They are the ones who make the business run.”

The Coronavirus Outbreak

  • Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

    Updated June 16, 2020

    • I’ve heard about a treatment called dexamethasone. Does it work?

      The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.

    • What is pandemic paid leave?

      The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.

    • Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?

      So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

    • What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

      Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

    • How does blood type influence coronavirus?

      A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

    • How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

      The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

    • Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?

      Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

    • My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

      States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

    • What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

      Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

    • How can I protect myself while flying?

      If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

    • Should I wear a mask?

      The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

    • What should I do if I feel sick?

      If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

Ms. Turner at Adrift Hospitality said she was able to keep these costs to about $10,000; her employees could build most things on site. Her main expenses were reconfiguring Adrift Distillers into a hand-sanitizer manufacturer and paying additional workers to manage new sanitation regimens and check-in systems. Another cost: disposable masks for guests — who are using about 100 per day.

“We’ve been kind of scrappy,” she said.

Credit...Celeste Noche for The New York Times

Mr. Lynch at Everyday California said that he’s had also spent about $10,000 on physical changes to the shop and new processes, but that he was applying for a state grant to help offset those costs. Mr. Evje has had minimal expenses related to reopening, although he has had to hire more workers, too.

With capacity limited and demand uncertain, small-business owners, even those whose operations are larger, say it’s hard to know whether to spend the money to reopen now or to wait.

Elliot Nelson, who owns McNellie’s Restaurant Group, with 20 locations in Arkansas and Oklahoma, is sifting through his spreadsheets daily to see what it’s going to take to keep going.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve gone through the financials like this,” he said.

Mr. Nelson started bringing his empire back online gradually in May, beginning with outdoor dining. But six weeks later, business is still slow; sales are about one-third their normal level. His sushi restaurants are doing well, but the breakfast joints are suffering.

“Our best-case scenario, maybe we’re 60 to 70 percent revenue by the end of the year,” Mr. Nelson said. “And that’s just a break even — and only that if I’m not paying my debt service.”

He’s reconsidering every cost: rent deals with landlords, reduced menus, trash collection, monthly computer expenses. He and his wife even met with a lawyer to see if they should get a divorce as a wealth-preservation tactic.

“These are the mind-boggling conversations we’re having,” Mr. Nelson said. “We need a stabilization fund or a super-enhanced Paycheck Protection Program, or it’s bankruptcy.”

Credit...Celeste Noche for The New York Times

  • Talk to your employees. “Engage your team in the decision-making process,” said Ms. Turner of Adrift Hospitality. “Make sure you’re communicating the why of the processes and give them choices when you can.”

  • Take your time. “Think through everything, and ask: ‘What are unintended consequences?’” said Mr. Reetz of Hanover Co-op. “You want to be quick, but don’t rush. Calm and focus is going to win the day. And let the staff know they have your support. The staff takes the brunt of things that fail.”

  • Take advantage of technology. “Be sure to utilize technology like QR codes and Apple Pay to eliminate the need to touch any surfaces,” said Mr. Lynch of Everyday California. “Also, online reservations are a must. You can avoid large crowds of people waiting in line for an unnecessary amount of time.”

  • Negotiate everything. “We have asked for percentage rent deals for the rest of the year,” said Mr. Nelson of McNellie’s. “Look at the things that are fixed, like rent and loan payments, and even the small stuff like trash and monthly computer charges.”

  • Customers are stressed, too. “My best advice for dealing with customers? I guess nobody said it better than Anthony Bourdain: ‘I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you,’” said Mr. Evje of Plonk. “Keep it classy and kind.”

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