Salem Book Store Shuts Doors On Weekends Over Mask Compliance

SALEM, MA — An award-winning bookstore on the Pedestrian Mall is locking its doors on weekends to those who don't have an appointment due to what it says is a "lack of compliance with mask and hand-sanitizing requirements" associated with the coronavirus health crisis.

Wicked Good Books, the independent book store on Essex Way, posted on its website that it will be open "by appointment only" during October on Saturdays and Sundays. The store remains open to the public on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"This year is unprecedented," Wicked Good Books owner Denise Kent told Patch on Monday. "Honestly, it's been exhausting emotionally and physically for our staff, and we're only one third the way through the month."

Kent said the concern comes from visitors who travel from out of state — and in some cases from throughout the country — where restrictions are not as stringent as they are in Salem and across Massachusetts.

She said customers have given her staff — which she said is made up of "petite, petite gals" — a hard time about mask compliance, using sanitizer and the amount of time they were allowed to browse in the store given capacity limits and health concerns.

"In any given year we have crowds to deal with and October is exhausting," Kent said. "People who are making their food and people working in retail aren't making a lot of money. Here they are putting themselves at great risk. They shouldn't have to put up with abuse on top of that."

"They ask people to pull up their masks and are being yelled at by men — challenged about everything. ... You don't have the right to potentially make other people sick or die. Your right to not wear a mask stops at the threshold (of the business)."

The store said the decision to lock up on weekend days that draw large crowds of visitors to Halloween's unofficial hometown was made because unmasked browsers unwilling to use hand sanitizer were "putting the health of our staff, patrons and community at risk."

Masks are required in all public locations — both indoors and outdoors — in Salem as part of its mandatory mask zone downtown.

"We are getting people from all over who could possibly turn us into a super-spreader event," Kent said she worries. "I take that very seriously and I don't want us behind something like that. I want them to respect our staff and local ordinances.

"When they are here we have to manage that. So many people are coming from states that don't have these kinds of protective measures in place. ... Their reactions are sometimes anger, frustration. We have to deal with that on top of trying to do our jobs."

Kent said while disagreeable customers have been a chore to deal with, she has received many messages of support.

"We are getting positive feedback near and far — in person and online — from people who thank us for maintaining a safe environment," she said. "For every person who is yelling at us for ejecting them from the store, there is a person who thanks us and tell us ours is one of a few stores they feel comfortable shopping in."

The store reopened to the public from the coronavirus shutdown on June 8. A GoFundMe page was launched during the pandemic as well to help the independent book store get through the shutdown and extended stretch of reduced capacity.

"Your downtown business needs you more than ever to make it through the winter," Kent noted. "The tourists will go home (after Halloween) and here we are facing how many months before you can relax?"

It was another busy weekend in the city as officials tried to balance business interests with public safety during the pandemic. Streets were closed on Saturday and the Museum Place Garage filled up early on both days.

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said last week that anyone who does not have lodging booked in advance, as well as restaurant reservations and tickets purchased to attractions, should consider delaying their Halloween trip to Salem to next year.

"I am not trying to be difficult," Kent said. "I am trying to maintain safety. Some of us are doing the best we can to look out for each other."

This article originally appeared on the Salem Patch