Retailers welcome customers back, a few at a time

NEEDHAM, Mass. — Woody Tanger was almost giddy as he described downtown Needham Monday morning.

“Doors are open,” he said. “I mean, I looked at stores and I see... that door is open. That door is open. I mean it’s amazing.”

After months of almost no doors open, retailers across Massachusetts threw back the locks and welcomed customers in, as Phase 2 of Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 Reopening Plan got underway.

But it will not be business as usual. Store owners face a long list of rules and restrictions, including limits on the number of customers who can be served at any given time, use of masks and social distancing, installation of barriers to protect staff members and, in the case of apparel stores, a 'no fitting room, no trying-on' policy.

Despite all that, Michael Turco of Crosby Jewelers in Needham was "very excited" to be back in business.

“At the end of the day we really missed being in here and missed all our customers, especially,” he said. “It’s just really good to see all the people that missed us, too.”

One of those people made his first day especially happy by purchasing a pair of diamond studs.

Around the corner, at Three Crown Jewelry, owners Sandy Wikstrom and husband Bert got an early start on reopening last week by setting up curbside service. It did not go especially well, said Sandy.

“We probably had, the whole week, 10 people, if that,” she said.

Part of the problem was logistics, she said.

“You can’t change batteries out there and put watchbands on and this and that,” she said.

Three Crown specializes in watches and clocks. Customer Richard Wakeman was thrilled to see the store open.

“I think it’s fabulous and I’d be lost without my watch," he said. “Plus (Bert) is the best watch man around.”

Needham Music and Dance had better success with curbside.

“People needed a lot of musical supplies,” said owner Richard Vaughn. “Reeds, picks, strings, guitar repairs, music books for teaching. So it was very important.”

Vaughn said permission to open is just half the battle. It's getting customers to feel comfortable coming in that could be tough.

At Needham Upholstery, Joe McKee hoisted a recently completed piece atop a table.

“I’m happy to have the doors back open,” he said.

Yet, he counts himself as fortunate to have been able to keep busy while closed.

“I was lucky I had a few big contract jobs that I was able to work on while everything was quiet,” he said. “I was still getting a few phone calls... people noticing things around their house that needed to be done.”

But others greeted Phase 2 with wariness.

"I've got mixed feelings about it, said Brian Weinstein, who was visiting Boston from New York with his son, Evan. "I'm not so sure that I'm crazy about them opening up so quickly. Areas that have -- especially like down in Florida -- unfortunately have shown an uptick in coronavirus cases."

Son Evan thinks the impact of recent protests should have been assessed before allowing Phase 2 to proceed.

“Maybe after the protests start dying down it might be a good idea to wait for that two-week period -- see if there’s an uptick," he said. “And if there is, maybe hold off. If there isn’t, maybe we can start slowly opening more businesses.”

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