CA businesses struggle through second shutdown

Isaac Mejia, co-owner of The Wolves Bar in downtown Los Angeles, spent weeks planning for when his bar could resume indoor dining.

"We did all the COVID procedures, temperature checks. We went contactless on the menu, we created QR codes. Everyone wore masks inside. We were very careful."

The Wolves Bar successfully re-opened – only to close four days later due to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s second shut-down order as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soar in the state.

Newsom’s trying to save lives, while others – like Mejia – are also trying to save their businesses.

"Cost-wise, it's very frustrating because we have very little money as it is. If we were open, we would be able to break even at least and try to survive COVID and get to the other side. I think that's what everybody wants to do right now is just survive."

Salon owner Jamie Zobrist agrees. She said she and her fellow staffers at Studio Z in Norco, California, have been racked with anxiety amid a situation in which they feel they have little control.

"I think that there is a very clear divide on what it is actually like to run a small business versus being in a power like a position of power and just telling people what to do. Like, it really is like playing with people's lives. We've all been on a roller coaster of emotion and fear for months and months."

Defying the state order, Zobrist intends to keep her salon open.

"Because we've gone through a period where we've been able to work with mask and with like disinfection and sanitary plans and conditions… it's now, another shutdown doesn't make sense to us because we feel like we can keep things a clean environment."

The rollback of California’s reopening plans also includes shutting indoor gyms, movie theaters and museums and remains in effect indefinitely.