State Street on Monday, March 16
Many local businesses face looming revenue drops, if revenue hasn’t dropped already, from decreased spending as the coronavirus pandemic pushes people indoors and away from public gathering places including the retail stores State Street.
Many businesses, such as Orange Tree Imports, 1721 Monroe St., are staying open and expanding in-store pickup options or bolstering their online sales platforms. Other businesses, such as Fontana Sports Specialties, 216 N. Henry St., are temporarily closing their doors.
Dane Buy Local executive director Colin Murray said local businesses face a challenging road ahead, one with many difficult decisions, including which employees may need to be laid off, when to temporarily shutter stores and even when to close their doors for good.
“This is going to have a devastating impact on local businesses, not just here, but nationwide,” Murray said.
New measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus piled onto each other over the past week as the United States saw an exponential rise in patients testing positive for the coronavirus. These included the call for social distancing — or limiting time spent in groups — school closures, and even bans on gatherings of more than 50 people.
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