ROCKINGHAM — All the businesses left open are operating in very different ways in order to survive this period of social distancing.
Many storefronts have closed in favor of delivery or appointment-based service — all have implemented new cleaning measures. At Bold Moves Dance Company, what was just weeks ago a studio packed with dancers practicing has now been reduced to a group of three experienced dancers and one instructor shooting training videos to send to the other 150 or so at home.
Beginning next week, Bold Moves will move everything they offer online, according to Holly Howe, owner of Bold Moves.
“Our kids are bored to death at home and this is a way for them to keep their skills up and not drive their parents crazy,” Howe said.
Bold Moves is a major part of the daily routine for many of their dancers, who Howe said now “don’t know what to do with themselves.” The most committed dancers spend almost as much time at the studio as the staff, and others train four days per week, she said.
Many of their dancers have been training for a recital for as much as 10 months, which has since been pushed to June. Howe said she’s “determined” to have the recital, “even if I have to do it outside or in a drive-thru.”
The instructors will keep making “fresh content” during this partial closure, learning how to better use video technology, all in an effort to keep the kids engaged and the business afloat, Howe said.
“It’s sink or swim,” she said.
DR Pharmacy’s home delivery service has increased by about four or five times normal since they closed their storefront, according to owner Cristi Tillis. Because their clientele tends to be elderly and people with existing health issues, Tillis said they closed up shop before many of the new restrictions were put in place.
In addition to delivery, the pharmacy is now offering curbside assistance as a way to make up for the absence of customers browsing the aisles. Staff are wearing gloves and masks in every customer interaction, including on deliveries, “while supplies last,” Tillis said. If they were to run out of masks, for example, she said they would use whatever fabrics they could put together to make something that would at least be better than nothing.
Like everyone else, DR Pharmacy is out of hand sanitizer. But they do have rapid flu tests, which take just minutes to complete and allow patients to consult with a physician virtually, according to Tillis. A flu test is one of the first steps taken by medical professionals to weed out the seasonal flu patients from COVID-19 patients.
Tillis advised that in order to stay healthy, as always, people should maintain a quality diet, get a good amount of sleep and exercise to promote a strong immune system.
The ability to resupply is the biggest challenge for Kool Kakes Bakery & Cafe, said co-owner Bambi Pantore. She said they’re too small to get truck deliveries from big suppliers, so they rely on being able to pick up what they need at local groceries — which in itself presents the danger of coming into contact with the virus. But many stores are now limiting the amount of items individuals can purchase at once to stop people from hoarding, forcing the bakery to work with much smaller supplies of ingredients.
At this point, Pantore said they’re focusing on custom orders of cakes and other treats, and is working on developing specials, including offering goody bags fitting with the popular hashtag #aworldofhearts which aims to spread a message of love while the country endures the COVID-19 pandemic. Kool Kakes had opened a window for walk-up orders, but closed it out of an abundance of caution as alarm bells about the virus reached a fever pitch.
Pantore said she and others that make up their staff have at-risk family members, including an asthmatic and another with an immune system deficiency.
“We have to be careful because we have kids at home that we can’t take the illness back to,” she said.
