Social distancing doesn’t just affect people. Businesses also are affected.
When Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon and the Jefferson County Health Department’s Board of Trustees on March 18 issued coordinated orders prohibiting restaurants, bars and similar establishments from serving dine-in patrons in response to growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus, the model for doing business in the county shifted.
The executive orders, which took effect after midnight March 20, will last at least 15 days, or through April 4.
“This was done after several days of careful consideration,” Gannon said. “It takes into account the current recommendation to limit gatherings of no more than 10 people.”
The order prohibits restaurants, bars, wineries and other for-profit businesses from offering dining inside their buildings, but allows deliveries, drive-thru and walk-up service.
“There’s an entrepreneurial spirit out there, and business owners are challenged to find ways to serve their customers and protect them as well,” Gannon said.
The order also extends to “every place of public accommodation,” which Gannon said takes in fraternal organizations and private clubs, like American Legion, Amvets and VFW posts.
“While the order excludes churches, we’re hoping they also understand that it’s important not to hold fish fries with a dine-in option,” he said. “While some churches are canceling their fish fries, many of them are offering other options. That’s what we want to see.”
The order, Gannon said, was coordinated with other surrounding counties.
“While St. Louis County may have made its announcement before we did, all of the orders concerning restaurants took effect at the same time,” he said.
Many restaurants already had closed their dining areas before the orders took effect.
The restriction to not allow gatherings of groups of 10 or more also extends to businesses such as movie theaters, which have closed for the foreseeable future.
Banks, credit unions and other similar businesses had closed their lobby areas off to the public, directing customers to use automated teller machines.
Gannon acknowledged that his order did not spell out a means of enforcement or penalties for businesses that choose not to follow the guidelines.
“We’re hoping for voluntary compliance because this is for the greater public good,” he said. “I suppose that municipal charges could be offered, but if we’re talking about the Sheriff’s Office checking each bar and restaurant to see if they’re doing what they should be doing, I think we’re all better served if they continue to answer more pressing calls. Again, we believe people will do what’s right. We ask that Jefferson County residents support the local businesses that are working with us – by ordering take-outs and deliveries, and helping to keep them in business during this trying time.”
Gannon said the executive order could be extended past the 15 days if necessary.
“We’re in discussion with our county Health Department, and with state officials and our surrounding counties, to keep up to date on this situation,” he said. “As everyone knows, things are changing not by the day, but by the hour.”
Gannon said his executive order does not apply to day-care centers and preschools.
“This is a tough situation,” he said. “While we don’t want people to group together, the fact is, if people who are needed at their jobs – nurses, doctors and other health care professionals – don’t have a place for their children, they’re going to stay home. And I don’t have authority to close those types of facilities down anyway.”
Not all businesses hurt
Todd Tracy, executive director of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, said while the precautions taken over the last couple of weeks have not been a boon for the county’s economy, some businesses haven’t been hurt as severely as others.
Tracy said the EDC is surveying local businesses to determine what economic impact the pandemic has caused locally, and the agency is due to report those findings to the Missouri Department of Economic Development this week.
“What we’re seeing right now is that the hotel industry definitely has been negatively impacted, and the service industry – particularly restaurants – obviously have been affected, too,” he said. “I’d say that everybody in business is feeling or will feel an effect at some point.”
Tracy did note that in the short term, some businesses could see an increase in demand for their goods and services.
“A lot of people are having to work from their homes, and they might not have a setup for a home business office,” he said. “College students are being told they are having to take the rest of the semester online or through video conferencing. It’s quite possible that retailers who sell computers and office supplies could see an increase.”
Other industries also could find themselves in demand, Tracy said.
“It’s not difficult to imagine that if you’re in the business of manufacturing items for the health care industry, that business will be picking up,” he said.
Some restaurants that deal primarily in delivery service also may benefit in the short run.
A spokesman for the Domino’s Pizza chain announced that the company is looking to hire 900 employees for its 100 stores throughout the St. Louis region to work as delivery drivers, in-store workers and managers.
Ron Harder, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management, noted that delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats likely will do well in the coming weeks.
“Be aware though, that their ways of interacting with customers may have changed,” he said. “So their drivers won’t have to handle money. Grubhub will not take cash, but it will be all by credit card.”
Some services have instituted a no-contact policy with customers, with deliveries left on a front doorstep and customers notified by text message that their order has arrived.
Grocery stores doing well
Grocery stores and other retailers that sell food, including Target and Walmart – have been doing brisk business over the last couple of weeks, as anyone who’s tried to buy toilet paper, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and bottled water, can attest. Stores also have spot shortages on other items.
Tracy said grocery stores are advertising for new employees.
“I hope that they’ll consider hiring employees who are displaced from other fields,” he said.
In an agreement negotiated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 655, which represents about 9,500 employees of supermarkets like Schnucks and Dierbergs in eastern Missouri, union dues for new hires will be waived for 45 days to allow them to be hired quickly, and the stores agreed to pay 90 percent of the pay for any union employee who tests positive for the coronavirus.
David Cook, president of the local, has called upon Gov. Mike Parson to classify front-line cashiers and pharmacy counter workers as first responders so they can be guaranteed priority testing and medical care, according to a union release.
He noted that Minnesota and Vermont have taken such action.
Many stores have restricted their hours – to ensure time to restock and to clean – and have instituted special times for seniors and others considered at risk for contracting the virus to shop.
Harder said he wants to emphasize that there’s no need to hoard groceries and other merchandise.
“There is enough food out there for everyone,” he said. “It’s in the warehouses, and that makes it a logistics problem – how to move it from the warehouses into the stores.”
Truck weight restrictions eased on state roads
To that end, state Rep. Becky Ruth (R-Festus) said she and state Rep. Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) have successfully negotiated a change to make it easier for products to move around.
“We’ve been working to increase the weight restrictions on state roads during the crisis,” she said. “We need trucks that are making deliveries of food and needed supplies to be full.
“Rep. Shaul and I have been working with the Missouri Grocers Association, MoDOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) and the governor’s office to increase the weight limits. On state roads, the normal limit is 80 tons. A recent governor’s executive order raised it to 88 tons and we’ve been successful in raising it again to 100 tons.
“With the majority of people observing the guidelines on social distancing, there are fewer vehicles out on the roads. The closure of schools also means fewer vehicles, including school buses, are out. With the fewer number of vehicles out, this means that there will be a balance having trucks that are full making deliveries. Once life goes back to normal, we’ll go back to the normal weight limits.”
Ruth said once the General Assembly returns after its spring break, other business relief may be coming down the pike.
Help is on the way
Tracy of the EDC said Jefferson County has been designated by the federal Small Business Administration to qualify for economic injury disaster loans.
“People think of the SBA as coming in after natural disasters, such as floods or hurricanes, but this is a different part of what they do,” he said. “You don’t have to have physical damage to qualify, but economic damage.”
Tracy said the SBA considers operations with fewer than 500 employees to be a small business.
He urges merchants to check out the EDC’s Facebook page at EDCofJeffersonCountyMo to get updates.
“We’re constantly getting updates on what’s going on at the state and federal levels, as well as what’s going on locally,” he said. “We will post that information as it’s passed on to us, including links about how to apply for help.”
Tracy also said business owners may call his office at 636-797-5336.
“Our office in Hillsboro isn’t open to the public, but we’re still in the office and we’re happy to answer any questions,” he said.
Ruth mentioned another program set up to help small merchants in these unsettled times.
The Linked Deposit Program through the Missouri Treasurer’s Office, Ruth said, works with banks to offer low-interest loans to businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
“Businesses will be able to apply for up to $1 million in loans,” she said.
The name of the program comes from the fact that the loan money will be transferred into the business owner’s banking account electronically, she said.
However, Ruth counseled, affected business owners may want to wait to see how the ever-changing financial market plays out.
“With the Federal Reserve continuing to reduce the prime interest rate, a local bank may be able to give a small business a more advantageous deal on their own. It’s something worth waiting to see,” she said.
Ruth said she encourages Jefferson County residents to remember their mom-and-pop merchants in the weeks ahead.
“We need to practice good social distancing and follow the guidelines of the (federal) CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the state and county health departments,” she said. “But remember those restaurants that are offering deliveries, or curbside service, or drive-thru. Buy gift cards from them if you can.”
Ruth said she looks at these troubled times as a test.
“How we react to this is a test of who we are – as a county, as a state, as a nation,” she said. “We can all do our part. How good of a neighbor will you be? How good a friend? We need to show kindness and look out for each other.”
