Shops beginning to reopen

Many of the shops on the Wimberley Square, and throughout town, have begun the process of opening their doors. Over the weekend, retail establishments were allowed to open for curbside service and soon they will be allowed to begin letting limited numbers of customers inside.

The executive orders by Texas Governor Greg Abbott allowed retail services to open that “are not ‘essential services,’ but that may be provided through pickup, delivery by mail, or delivery to the customer’s doorstep in strict compliance with the terms required by DSHS.”

(Editor’s Note: After the interviews in this article, Governor Abbott issued new executive orders further expanding what is allowed in retail establishments and many other businesses effective May 1. See the story “Stores, restaurants, more to open with limited capacity” to the right.)

While nothing close to an average April weekend in Wimberley, the Square was abuzz with both tourists and locals.

“Most of our shoppers were from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and some small towns,” Jacque Mason, owner of Wall Street Western said.

The limitations still on retail businesses continued to be a hindrance; however, Mason said that the overwhelming majority of customers were not bothered by the fact that they were not allowed inside the store. A lot of purchases were made from window-shopping.

“I’ve been down for a month, so to me this was awesome,” Mason said. “I’m just glad to be able to doing something.”

The Cedar Chest owner Sarah Barlow said that this weekend was stronger than the previous weeks of the shut down, but still far from normal.

“I had five sales over the weekend,” Barlow said. “For the whole month of April our store did $2,000. We did 40 percent of that Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The rest of it was people randomly calling us, and we mailed items out.”

The Cedar Chest was able to keep their employee paid with the help of the Federal Paycheck Protection Plan.

“I had (a bank) that lost my file, and that was frustrating,” Barlow said. “But then I had an awesome response from Ozona Bank.

Sharon over at Ozona jumped through hoops for us. That money is kind of what we are living on right now. I just hand delivered the first PPP check to my employee.”

She reopened the store for curbside service and “loaded the window with everything I can cram in there,” but she is still concerned about the impacts that reopening, even to this level, may have.

“Personally, I have got real mixed emotions about reopening,” Barlow said. “In our town, we get visitors from all over the world. We also know our locals don’t shop with us much… We count on the tourists trade, but it scares me what we might be bringing in from all over. Places like Austin and Houston have more cases than us, so I’m nervous about it… I’ve been here almost 25 years.

I feel like if we open this thing back up we are going to have to take some extra precautions. It would be a limited access, and I’m considering issuing gloves and masks at the front door.”

The Old Mill Store is taking a measured approach even as the regulations have relaxed.

“I am, by nature, a very cautious person,” Steve Klepfer, owner of the Old Mill Store, said. “…I will open up only as I feel my staff and customers can be safe. However, we are doing curbside… I am not going to open up my space to a lot of congregating. Curbside to us can be meant as internet or phone sales.”

Klepfer said right now that the community shopping local is important, but there will still be something missing.

“Specialty retail in Wimberley has a lot to do with the experience of coming to the Square and going into the shops and checking out the restaurants or the parks,” Klepfer said. “It is the experience.”

Still there is optimism.

“Hang in there together as a community and we will get through this,” Klepfer said. “I appreciate everyone reaching out to the small locally owned businesses. I know they care, and we care about them. So lets just work at this together.”

But not all businesses are open. In Style Accessories is hoping to get permission to allow people into their store. (Editor’s Note: Abbott gave that permission starting on Friday, May 1.)

“We are ready,” Kristi Broadway, owner of In Style Accessories, said. “We are sitting on some of the best spring shoes we have ever had. But we are a shoe store. For us, our customer is someone that needs to try on the shoe, so it isn’t something that works really well online.”

If an executive order allows retail businesses to have customers inside, In Style Accessories will be ready to open – and follow the guidelines.

“We have been looking at all the guidelines, and keeping up,” Broadway said. “We are going to be safe, and we are going to make sure we are following the guidelines.”

Jacque Mason, owner of Wall Street Western, is happy to have the option to open her store.