KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In Kansas City, Missouri’s West Bottoms, Friday was the first time many businesses were open in months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Susan Harding was on the verge of opening her shop before the shutdown, and said she’s happy to finally see customers.
“It’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be,” Harding said, remarking on the number of people.
The indoor-outdoor nature of the area makes it easier to social distance and allow businesses to monitor their spaces.
The people behind Good Ju Ju said they’re following rules, limiting the number of people inside to 50 percent of the building’s capacity.
“We’ve required all of our dealers to wear masks. We have told our customers that masks are appreciated,” Pam Kinney said. “We’re not going to force somebody to do it.”
Kinney said they’ve also marked spaces 6 feet apart at the checkout line.
Penny Sweeney, also of Good Ju Ju, said the shoppers coming out to support the businesses made her a little emotional.
“They started lining up about a quarter to 8, and then they went in the front of the building and around the back,” Sweeney said. “It was a little teary.”
While everyone know there are still problems to be faced, a small sense of normalcy returned.
“Feeling the energy from all the people coming to shop as well as eat, and just be outdoors and enjoy life — absolutely there is always hope,” Amber Arnett Bequeath said.
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We've created a Facebook group, We're Open Kansas City, where members of the community can post businesses serving their community.
