Santa Cruz Co. Businesses Reluctant To Reopen, Despite Approval
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County got the go-ahead from state officials to allow more services to reopen under Stage 2 of the state's four-tier plan to restart public life.
Dine-in restaurants, hair salons and barbershops may resume serving customers, under some restrictions. Many have yet to fully reopen, local business leaders say.
The county sent its 130-page application to receive a so-called Stage 2 variance Friday, after the Board of Supervisors approved it during an emergency meeting. Santa Cruz County announced Saturday that the state had approved the application.
Fifty of California's 58 counties have now been granted a Stage 2 variance, though Santa Cruz County is the first in the Bay Area.
For business owners, it's "been a mixed bag of reactions," said Shaz Roth, president and CEO of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, in an email. While some restaurant owners are eager to serve dine-in customers again, many are still only offering take-out while they train staff and implement precautions, she said.
Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce CEO Casey Beyer said many business owners have had a lot of "pent-up frustration" and want to reopen, but they're unsure how to apply state guidelines for reopening to their business. Beyer expects many will wait and see how competitors are handling the adjustment.
"We're flying the airplane while we're building it," he said. "There's no model."
Some have already changed their entire business model and are unsure of the best way to transition into the next phase safely, he said.
Patrons may not even be comfortable returning to dine-in restaurants, Beyer said. Restaurants may initially reduce hours as they look to follow state guidelines and ensure they've gained customers' trust.
The chamber is in talks with the cities of Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley to potentially close down some streets to allow merchants to serve more people safely, while maintaining social distancing, he said.
Adding to restaurateur's concerns, Beyer said "the restaurant businesses in this town survive on tourism." This summer could be a slower tourism season with hotels open to only essential workers.
The damage to the hospitality could play out for years to come.
Santa Cruz County is a popular conference site and some corporations have voided their contracts with local venues because the county's shelter-in-place order has no end date, Beyer said. Many corporations sign three-year contracts. And if they don't come in 2020, they might not be back for conferences in 2021 or 2022 either, he said.
Navigating A New Chapter
Barbershops and salons can't offer services that involve touching the face, such as waxing/threading or eyelash services, but may offer: haircuts; hair color; weaves; extensions; braiding; lock maintenance; wig maintenance; and hair relaxing.
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Schools are also allowed to resume operations in counties that have been granted a Stage 2 variance, but Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel previously said the county would not yet reopen schools as a precaution.
Newel has said that the county could walk back any reopenings if the coronavirus situation changes.
To reopen, Santa Cruz County had to meet various criteria related to having: a stable or relatively low case count; the resources in place to protect essential workers; testing capacity; contact tracing capacity; and more.
Santa Cruz County noted in its application that it has a lower case count and case doubling time than most California counties.
Read the county's application here.
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This article originally appeared on the Santa Cruz Patch
