A number of businesses in the area have had to close their doors or revamp their work because of COVID-19. A recent Chamber of Commerce survey from March showed that over 80 per cent of small businesses were impacted by social distancing regulations. For some, it’s meant huge losses, while others have found ways to pick up the slack.
We reached out to four major businesses around Burns Lake to check in on how they were doing weeks into the COVID-19 dilemma. They were candid with us about what they’ve been going through.
Paul Hillard from Woods N’ Water Sports and Recreation closed his doors at one point, but it didn’t last long. He said he was receiving calls for appointments as late as 10 p.m. on a Sunday night. He now plans to stay opened, until he is ordered to close by a government body, if that ever happens.
“The Prime Minister said, ‘everybody go home.’ He said, ‘everybody go home and stay home.’ So I said, ‘Ok… Alright… I’ll try to be responsible. But it didn’t work out,’’ he said with a laugh.
When Lakes District News spoke to him previously, guns and ammunition were selling like crazy, along with fishing equipment. And this is still the case, he said.
Michael Jacques from ACI computers has been busier than he could have imagined when this all started out. With people now needing to work from home, and their children needing to be schooled at home, as well, computers are a hot commodity. But unfortunately, they don’t always work—though it’s fortunate for him because his business is in high demand.
He’s answering calls for help as much as he can, and working with customers in store still, too, when it’s absolutely necessary. He plans to stay open, like Hilliard, unless customer safety is jeopardized.
“If I feel that I can’t keep people safe and the store clean, I might close… Because I have a lot of elderly customers and the last thing I would ever want to do is put them at risk,” said Jacques.
Shirley Weibe from Boer Mountain Coffee House and the Green Grocer has flipped the tragedy into a positive for herself—literally, she is “flipping” her restaurant through renovations that will see it turned into a coffee, smoothie and health drink bar. Staffing was her main issue before she closed her doors—she was hard pressed to find people who could work with lower hours.
But she feels it’s been a secret blessing because she’s been wanting to overhaul the business for some time. And now is the right time, she said.
“I do feel for all of our other businesses. I worry about our town because all of our restaurants are closed down and I wonder how many will be back up and running after… We need the restaurants in town,” she said.
And sales from the health food store from people striving to be healthy now have helped her offset the loss from the restaurant closure, she added.
Wayne Brown at Process 4 Art store has been harder hit than the other three. He closed his doors on March 17, but remained available by appointment. But he’s only had three appointments. He’s frustrated and worried, he said. And he’s still not sure which government COVID-19 benefits are going to be able to help him.
“I’m hoping that once this pandemic is finished, our locals will start shopping locally, instead of going online, or going to Prince George to buy everything. I’m hoping they will support us again,” he said.
“But we don’t know if we’re going to open our doors for a while. They’re talking weeks and weeks and weeks,” said Brown.