Lone Tree businesses reach toward normal

Merchants take various steps as they reopen

Nick Puckett
npuckett@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Posted 6/9/20

Lone Tree businesses continue the re-opening process as COVID-19 health restrictions ease, inching their way toward returning to normal. Like other businesses, restaurants are establishing social …

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Lone Tree businesses reach toward normal

Merchants take various steps as they reopen

Posted

Lone Tree businesses continue the re-opening process as COVID-19 health restrictions ease, inching their way toward returning to normal.

Like other businesses, restaurants are establishing social distancing procedures for indoor service. Restaurants must remove half of their available seating and separate dine-in tables at least 6 feet apart.

Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse at the Park Meadows mall, reopened its dining room June 3. The restaurant is taking measures including checking employees’ temperatures and limited tables to six per party. The restaurant will continue providing contactless delivery as well.

At the start of Colorado’s statewide shutdown order in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses in Lone Tree and elsewhere scrambled to set up virtual options for appointments or retail. Now, even as they allow customers inside, many merchants still rely on curbside pickup and delivery for much of their business.

For salons, retail stores, gyms and other businesses deemed “nonessential” by the state at the start of the shutdown orders, returning to business required drafting a unique set of guidelines.

Roots and Mane, a Lone Tree hair salon, brought back all five of its stylists and began rescheduling appointments May 12, two weeks later than they could have. In order to open, the salon required customers to text or call upon arrival, wear masks and use hand sanitizer once they enter.

“At the beginning, of course, the fear overcame (other concerns) — the financial fear of a small business,” Harmon said. “But we had so many blessings.”

The salon got by while it was closed the previous two months selling to-go kits for customers to do their own hair color touch-ups at home. The salon’s four owners had wanted to introduce the service in the future, Harmon said, but the COVID-19 forced them to get started early.

The salon will continue offering the to-go service. Roots and Mane sells about 10 kits per week and its owners want to find a way to sell their homemade kits to other salons to deliver to their customers. The owners are thinking are bigger now, coming up with ways to market their own retail line.

“We figured it would be a good opportunity to start working our own formula,” Harmon said. “We would have never been pushed outside our comfort zone, but given the circumstance—how lucky were we to be able to have the time to be able to create other ideas.”

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