COVID-19 Monday Business Reopenings Vary By San Francisco Bay Area County
BURLINGAME (CBS SF) -- Starting Monday, retail shops across most of Northern California are going be able to reopen with some modifications. But not every county.
In Burlingame, Sam Malouf and his wife, Gloria, were getting ready to start selling clothes at their family-run retail clothing shop called Sam Malouf. They have been closed for 2 months.
"It's a step forward," said Gloria Malouf. "Instead of completely closed, it's a step forward."
It will be a baby step since sales are required to happen curbside in San Mateo County in accordance with the county's health order. The Maloufs estimate sales will be about 10 percent of normal at first. Still, they say they are focused on the health of their customers.
"That's the last thingwe want, them to get sick. We need them!" said Sam Malouf.
"It's both sided," Gloria added. "It's our clients and it's our staff and our family. So, we're all taking precautions."
Grocery stores, restaurants and other places deemed essential have been open all along, but starting Monday, depending on the county, most retail shops that are not inside malls will now be able to sell to customers curbside. That includes clothing stores, as well as shoe stores, bookstores and many others that have been shut down from the COVID-19 crisis.
"Each area is different," Sam Malouf said. "Overall, seems like San Mateo County, Burlingame in particular where we are, has been pretty safe. There hasn't been a lot of cases and a lot of deaths."
But one county south in Santa Clara County, it's a different story. Nonessential stores will remain closed as Santa Clara County Health officials have not announced any changes to the health order in that county.
"I really would hate to take a step forward and have to take 2 or 3 steps back," said Carlos Diaz, a San Jose record store owner and one of the directors of the Alum Rock Business Network. "So if we have to wait a week or two, I'm okay with that."
Diaz said county health officials will eventually need to have better communications with business owners, otherwise, he is worried jealousy of neighboring counties will take over.
"I think that is some of what is happening [already], is you start feeling left behind," he said. "And you start making justifications for why you can and should bend the rules. And I think that's when we could run into a lot of trouble so I think the county needs to come out and be very clear. If you're to stringent, I think all hell could break loose. We don't want that to happen."
