‘Open’ signs remain dark

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This article was published 01/02/2021 (1727 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tara Davis calls herself the “shop fairy” of her Exchange District boutique.

“I do everything here – I’m a buyer, a merchandiser, I am an artist,” she said.

When restrictions on in-person shopping for items considered non-essential were lifted — much of which is sold at Tara Davis Studio Boutique, where wares vary from jewelry to artwork to glassware — she took on a new role: an arbiter of tough decisions.

Davis is one of several local business owners who have decided to keep their doors closed in some form or another in spite of reopening at a limited capacity.

“I can’t envision turning my open sign on for at least a month,” she said.

Davis has no concerns about being able to manage 25 per cent capacity safely in store — the McDermot building is even built in a circuit shape, good for people to walk through without having to cross paths — but she said she’s taking advice from her friends and customers who work on the front lines of Winnipeg’s health-care system.

“When I listen to Dr. Roussin, when you listen carefully, to me it sounds as if he isn’t entirely sure that this is a good time to open up,” she said.

“I can’t help but wonder if there are political drivers that are sort of influencing his decisions around this, and I also wonder about large companies and big box stores having a whole bunch of influence on reopening the economy.”

Davis has had curbside pickup as an option for months and has started a unique model to allow some customers into the store as of Thursday — she’s decided to let in people she knows, regular customers and people who had previously purchased gift cards, but only in pairs and by appointment.

“They know me, and they appreciate my customer service, and wouldn’t be put off if someone called and I had to spend five or 10 minutes working on an order with that person,” she said. “Or they wouldn’t steal from me if I had to go out to a vehicle for curbside pickup.”

The fear of big box stores and online shopping giants elbowing out her business while Davis keeps her doors closed lingers, but she said she had to learn through experimenting with online service that her business is “apples and oranges” compared with much of the competition.

“I have very unique, niche market, so I’m no longer concerned about the big-box stores damaging my business, which is pretty cool,” Davis said. “That’s a nice outcome from the struggles of the pandemic.”

The popularity of Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo before the pandemic made it clear tickets shouldn’t be sold in stores for now, chairman Raj Phangureh said.

“I think the biggest thing to consider was that a year ago, pre-pandemic, people were waiting in huge lines in stores to get our cards, they were travelling from store to store — it wasn’t uncommon for customers to be traveling to 10, 20 stores, even stores in different towns, just trying to find cards,” Phangureh said.

“So we thought that we just didn’t want to be in a position to — not really encourage or force people to do that — but just enable that sort of behaviour during a pandemic.”

People adapted quickly to the phone, mail and online orders, and tickets have continued to sell out without in-person sales.

Phangureh said Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo will phase in in-person sales “really slowly” and is waiting to see how COVID-19 progresses in the province before they decide on a date to return.

Woodcock Cycle Works has been a local institution for cycling and other sports gear for more than 30 years. With decades in business comes the experience that had owner Tim Woodcock close early before November’s lockdown began, choosing to stick to online and curbside shopping instead of reopening the St. Mary’s shop.

“With the cold weather, it doesn’t seem to have been an issue, we’ve actually had a lot of positive responses from customers,” he said.

“I’m sure there’s people out there who don’t like the idea, but we’ve got a lot of product in.”

The store has been getting along fine in part because its online presence existed long before COVID-19 did, and many customers know how to use it. Curbside pickup and parking spots designated for customers getting their orders have also helped keep orders coming – the store has sold out and restocked ski equipment once already.

“It’s doing the responsible thing,” Woodcock said. “And we’re keeping an eye on how the numbers are going, and they’re going in the right direction. So we will be opening at some point.”

Woodcock, who has asthma and is immunocompromised, said he feels “pretty good” about how the shop has handled the pandemic when he looks back on the last 11 months.

“I do want to get back open, but we’re going to do it properly, on our time,” he said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_