Yucatan Times: First Exclusive Coronavirus Supply Store Opens in NYC. “A new business billing itself as the city’s first coronavirus safety supply store opened to customers in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, NY, last month. The CV-19 Essential store near Herald Square is selling safety products for homes and businesses, including face masks, cell phone sanitizers, plexiglass dividers, UV lights and air purifiers.”
small business
CNET: Inside the illegal underground gyms of the COVID-19 pandemic
CNET: Inside the illegal underground gyms of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic forced hundreds of thousands of businesses to close abruptly, including gyms and fitness studios. When that happened in early 2020, gym owners reluctantly closed their doors, hoping to reopen in two weeks when things went back to ‘normal.’ But, things have yet to return to normal, and many fitness professionals, who either didn’t want to or couldn’t afford to stay closed, secretly reopened their gyms against public health orders.”
VT Digger: Pandemic, new consumer outlook create new markets for Vermont produce
VT Digger: Pandemic, new consumer outlook create new markets for Vermont produce. “Community-supported agriculture operations reported a huge surge in memberships this spring; grocery stores, unable to get shipments from some of their traditional suppliers far away, started buying more local produce. Sales of canning supplies and freezers soared; even home gardeners stepped up their game, buying out the inventory of seed suppliers.”
Exclusive: Hypur Finds Coronavirus Is Changing How Consumers Pay for Pot (Cheddar)
Cheddar: Exclusive: Hypur Finds Coronavirus Is Changing How Consumers Pay for Pot. “While many consumers still prefer to pay for cannabis with cash, fears concerning health and safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic are driving many toward alternative payment methods, according to a new survey from digital payments provider Hypur.”
Washington Citypaper: Four Strategies That Just Might Help Restaurants Make It Through Winter
Washington Citypaper: Four Strategies That Just Might Help Restaurants Make It Through Winter. “Nearly one in six U.S. restaurants have closed permanently or indefinitely six months into a public health crisis people initially hoped would only last weeks. That’s approximately 100,000 closures, according to the National Restaurant Association. The trade group’s survey-based report, released in mid-September, also found 40 percent of restaurant owners don’t think they’ll be in business in another six months without additional relief from the federal government.”
The City: Grandmas Keep Beloved Staten Island Restaurant Going, One Jar of Sauce at a Time
The City: Grandmas Keep Beloved Staten Island Restaurant Going, One Jar of Sauce at a Time. “When COVID-19 overtook New York City, restaurant owner Joe Scaravella didn’t think twice about closing Enoteca Maria, one of Staten Island’s most beloved eateries. He decided the chefs — a rotating posse of grandmas with roots from around the world — were too vulnerable. ‘They’re in their sixties, seventies, eighties,’ said Scaravella. ‘They can’t participate in this staying-open experiment.’ But after months of only serving meals to essential workers on weekends, some of the nonnas — Italian for ‘grandmothers’ — are finally back in the kitchen part-time.”
Freethink: Ghost Kitchens Are Saving Restaurants During the Pandemic
Freethink: Ghost Kitchens Are Saving Restaurants During the Pandemic. “Also known as ‘virtual kitchens’ or ‘cloud kitchens,’ these facilities have everything you’d find in a typical restaurant kitchen: stoves, walk-in refrigerators, skilled chefs, etc. What they don’t have, though, are waiters, tables, or even a dedicated menu — these kitchens are just for making and delivering to-go orders for outside restaurants.”
Politico: Hard-hit small businesses face long winter without lifeline
Politico: Hard-hit small businesses face long winter without lifeline. “The potential failure of economic relief talks in Washington would have dire consequences for small businesses across the U.S., with the lack of new federal aid threatening to trigger mass layoffs and closures that would drag on the economy.”
The Next Web: Agility of small businesses during COVID-19 puts big pressure on corporates
The Next Web: Agility of small businesses during COVID-19 puts big pressure on corporates. “Amid a pandemic that has wreaked havoc on almost every industry and dealt heart-rending damage to Main Street America, businesses in our communities have shown an incredible ability to adapt and innovate.”
No forgiveness: Small businesses still on hook for rescue loans (Politico)
Politico: No forgiveness: Small businesses still on hook for rescue loans. “When the government pledged to give small businesses billions of dollars in rescue loans during the pandemic, it was an offer almost too good to refuse: The loans could be forgiven if employers only maintained payroll. In little more than four months, the Paycheck Protection Program doled out $525 billion in loans to 5.2 million borrowers, which economists estimate saved millions of jobs. But to date, none of the loans have been forgiven.”
Mirfield: Face mask cameras installed at garden centre (BBC)
BBC: Mirfield: Face mask cameras installed at garden centre. “A garden centre has employed mask recognition technology to help stop customers entering without coverings. Whiteley’s Garden Centre at Mirfield, West Yorkshire, has installed cameras linked to software at the entrance point to spot anyone without a mask.”
The Atlantic: Normalcy for Some, Apocalypse for Others
The Atlantic: Normalcy for Some, Apocalypse for Others. “The pandemic recession has erased trillions of dollars of economic activity and pushed the jobless rate to 8.4 percent, with one in 10 Americans currently drawing unemployment-insurance payments. But it has not been evenly distributed. Big companies and rich families have largely recovered, whereas mom-and-pops and the moms and pops who run them are living through a second Great Depression.”
AP: Minneapolis restaurant quarantines 13 who worked Trump event
AP: Minneapolis restaurant quarantines 13 who worked Trump event. “Thirteen staff members from a Minneapolis steakhouse were quarantining after the restaurant catered a fundraiser attended by President Donald Trump during his visit to Minnesota last week, the restaurant said Monday.”
CNN: These retailers announced hundreds of store closures in September
CNN: These retailers announced hundreds of store closures in September. “Some retailers are now closing more stores than originally planned, underscoring how badly businesses have have struggled during the pandemic. Here are some of the highest-profile retailers that announced store closures in September.”
WBTV: Belmont Holy Angels close businesses day after surprise visit from Ivanka Trump
WBTV: Belmont Holy Angels close businesses day after surprise visit from Ivanka Trump. “Holy Angels businesses in Belmont are closed on Friday, one day after receiving a surprise visit by Ivanka Trump. Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner both tested negative for COVID-19 Friday after her father, President Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus.” The closings were temporary and precautionary.