Here we go again: Gig Harbor businesses face second round of restrictions.
For the second time in nine months, the Gig Harbor business community is struggling to adapt to strict pandemic regulations.
A recent order by Gov. Jay Inslee, aimed at curbing the dramatic “third wave” in COVID-19 cases in Washington state, severely limits businesses from grocery stores to restaurants.
Some businesses, like the Food Market at Key Center, are adapting. The grocery store is now offering a curbside pick up service, which comes following a new 25 percent capacity limitation on grocery stores.
Others, like Ocean 5, the gaming and bowling center, and Table 47, the associated restaurant, are packing it in, at least temporarily. Both businesses are closing to reserve capital.
And many small businesses, such as AR Workshop, an arts-and-crafts boutique, face an an uncertain future. Six of the store’s 11 employees have been let go, and owner Jasmine Schmidt isn’t sure she’ll open this winter.
The new statewide rules eliminate indoor service at restaurants and bars, close indoor activity at gyms, and limit occupancy at retail stores to 25% of capacity. The order went into effect last week and will last until Dec. 15.
Curbside delivery
The store-capacity order is one reason Food Market, the major source of groceries on the Key Peninsula, went to curbside delivery. “It’s been pretty popular,” said Nathan Anderson, the assistant store manager.
The service will be offered Tuesday through Saturday from 11-12 a.m. and 5-6 p.m.
“It’s anything from the store, minus gift cards and a couple of the seasonal specials,” Anderson said. “Washington state requires a $25 food purchase in addition to the purchase of alcohol, so there is that restriction.”
Anderson walked through the process of how it is done. “ “The customer will place an order online and when their order has been picked, they’ll receive an email notification stating that their order is ready. When they arrive at the store, they call the store phone number and let the employees know, ‘Hey, I’m here to pick up an order.’ We bring it up and deliver it right to the car.”
There are plans for two other locations, Food Market at Lake Kathryn and at Kingston, to start the service in the first week of December. The shift was planned since before covid and is meant to embrace what Anderson calls “the wave of the future.”
Future uncertain
For other businesses, that future looks much more uncertain.
Aaron Shook is the general manager of Ocean 5, an entertainment center with bowling, laser tag, a game room, and a party space that can hold up to 400. The business opened in 2017 and is a part of the affiliated restaurant Table 47, which also opened that same year. Both businesses closed Wednesday, Nov. 18 due to prohibitions on indoor dining and entertainment such as bowling.
“We’re closing. Whether we open in 2021 remains to be seen. That’s our hope but there are a lot of factors involved in that,” Shook said. “Depending on how long this drags on, we’ll determine whether or not we got something to come back with. It also depends on what happens with the federal government hopefully negotiating a stimulus package that supports businesses like ours.”
Keeping people working
Looking back now, he said he worked to do everything he worked hard to keep people on the payroll.
“Since the initial closure in March, we did everything we could to keep everybody we could working. We originally had about 135 employees, we quickly went down to about eight. Then we were able to hire back about 35 and keep everybody working through the summer,” Shook said. “In doing that, we have continued to operate at a loss — and at a significant loss since the closure. What we’ve looked at now is that we really just need to keep any amount of money we can in the bank possible so that when we can more fully really open we have got the funds to do so.”
The message he wants to share: “It doesn’t hurt anybody to wear a mask and comply. It does hurt many people to not do so. We would implore everyone to just please follow the rules, wear a mask and help us get back to work as soon as we can,” Shook said.
Hemorrhaging money
Susan Moore is an Army veteran and mother of two who opened Better Gym six years ago. She has pivoted to offer online training but is still looking at expensive operating cost that is taking a toll.
“There is not really that much help for gyms out there,” Moore said. “I’m not optimistic.”
Moore said she has an understanding with her landlord, but she doesn’t know how long that will last, as they both are “hemorrhaging” money.
“There has never been rent relief,” Moore said. “There is nothing that really helps the gyms out.”
Moore isn’t certain about the future but said “if we close, we close for good.”
Michelle Kammer’s Dolly Mama Boutique, a boutique and home store with two locations in Gig Harbor, said they remain open.
“We are open with the state mandate operating at 25% capacity, which is not a problem because it’s not like we’re packed or anything,” Kammer said. “Our website has been doing well. It’s definitely a different environment.”
Approaching the holiday season has created a lot of uncertainty for the businesses as they must guess about what demand will look like.
“Being that it’s the holidays we have to stay pretty well staffed, just in case, and then a lot of times I have to end up sending people home early,” Kramer said.
The business has missed out on big events that normally would have brought in customers, like the traditional “Girls Night Out” on the second Thursday in November.
“There’s usually like 1,500 women shopping in downtown Gig Harbor and that didn’t happen, ” Kramer said. The loss was “easily a $20,000 hit in one day.”
In ‘hibernation’
The Galaxy Theaters in Gig Harbor had only just recently reopened in early November and are now facing down another closure due to movie theaters being prohibited from operating.
Frank Rimkus, CEO for the company, said they are in “hibernation” and are operating with a minimal skeleton crew staff of two managers, down from a staff of six, in order to be ready to open.
“We are part of the community and we look to be part of the community. We hire a lot of young people,” Rimkus said.
Studios have been holding or pushing back many of their big releases, providing few entertainment offerings for customers.
“With the lack of film available, there isn’t really a draw to go. The attendance was low, significantly lower than normal,” Rimkus said.
One big project on the horizon is Wonder Woman 1984, which recently announced it will release in theaters and to HBO Max subscribers free of charge on Dec. 25. Rimkus said this is the type of the release they would reopen for.
“If we’re permitted and the safety is assured to the degree it makes sense, we’d be happy to be open,” Rimkus said. “We want to get back to business.”
A tough anniversary
Another business facing this uncertain future is AR Workshop Gig Harbor, a DIY boutique that offers retail and workshops. Owner Jasmine Schmidt will be celebrating its third anniversary on Dec. 14, the same day the current state order expires.
“This year has been really tough,” Schmidt said. “This is our peak season when we’re usually moving and grooving in there. We’ve got all sorts of private parties and holiday celebrations and team building events. Coming off of the first shutdown and going into the second one during our peak season is brutal.”
Schmidt has also faced tough decisions when it comes to letting employees go due to decreased business.
“We don’t have enough hours to go around,” Schmidt said. “We had 11 in March and we currently have five.”
Schmidt has expanded DIY offerings and her website, but she said that the future is still uncertain.
“I highly doubt that we’re going to be opened back up before Christmas. We did have our last workshop last night and it did feel like it was going to be the last one of the year,” Schmidt said.
Poor outlook
Warren Zimmerman, president and CEO of the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, said the outlook for businesses “is very poor.”
“I think businesses were just starting to get comfortable, especially our retailers and our restaurants, with the 25 percent occupancy,” Zimmerman said. “Nationally, there is very little interest in the parties working together to come sort of solution.”
Reach Chase Hutchison at chasehutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
