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Booksellers across the U.S. are wrestling with how to safely open their bookstores, @xanalter reports. Some are racing ahead. Others feel it’s too risky. https://nyti.ms/2WWo1M5
As businesses move to reopen, bookstore owners and other retailers are attempting to strike a balance between staying afloat and keeping workers and customers safe. Bookstores, especially smaller independent stores, face particular challenges as they navigate reopening.
One store, Interabang Books in Dallas, has taken several steps to stay open during the pandemic. It became an online retail business, then it moved to curbside takeout. When it was able to reopen, the staff reorganized the store and provided gloves, masks and hand sanitizer.
But some other bookstores are unsettled by the prospect of reopening and having shoppers roam through their stores. “The staff resoundingly said, ‘We are not ready,’” said Valerie Koehler, the owner of the Houston bookstore Blue Willow. https://nyti.ms/2WWo1M5
Some larger bookstore companies, however, are taking a more bullish approach. Both Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million have moved to reopen some of their stores across the U.S. But giant retailers that operate warehouses have additional workplace safety issues to contend with.
The anxiety among many booksellers about when and how to reopen stems in part from the fact that the retail guidelines issued by states might not apply equally to all stores
The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis struck at a moment when booksellers across the U.S. were thriving: The number of indie bookstores has risen over the past decade. The coronavirus outbreak threatens to wipe out those gains.
Read more about how bookstores across the U.S. are grappling with the prospect of reopening during the coronavirus pandemic here https://nyti.ms/2WWo1M5
