CLAYCOMO, Mo. — As businesses look to reopen, the city and county they are located in will determine when and how they can get back to work.
There isn’t complete agreement in the metro , which has caused confusion for businesses and people -- especially for communities north of the Missouri River.
Kristine Kennedy, of Plattsburg, Missouri, said that the areas “bleed into each other.”
"It’s very hard to know, ‘OK, well here I can go to this restaurant because I’m allowed, or here I can’t because they're not open yet,” Kennedy said.
Thomas Pickens, of Olathe, agreed.
"We don’t know what’s going to be open, what’s going to be closed, so yeah it’s kind of confusing,” he said.
On May 4, restaurant dining rooms in Clay and Platte counties can reopen with social distancing. Salons also can open.
On May 6, if the business is located in Kansas City, Missouri, there is a soft-opening Phase 1 in which salons and retail can open under the 10/10/10 proposal, meaning either 10 percent occupancy or 10 people inside (whichever one is the most). If the customer is in the business for more than 10 minutes, the contact information for that person needs to be documented. Workers must wear masks and gloves. Religious services, weddings and funerals can resume.
On May 15, Kansas City, Missouri, gyms, museums, bars, dining rooms, dog parks, playgrounds, movie theaters and community centers can reopen.
The shifting dates and restrictions are hard for small businesses like Ma and Pa’s Kettle to keep up with.
"We’re going to wait until at least after Mother’s Day and kind of go from there,” Janet Devin, owner of Ma and Pa’s Kettle, said. “We don’t have a set date because it just seems like every week it’s changing and when we come back, we want to make sure it’s the right thing to do.”
Since the business is in Claycomo, on Monday it can open with 25 percent occupancy, which is about 10 people in her restaurant. Devine told 41 Action News she doesn’t know how she’ll make that work in this smaller space.
While it’s a confusing time now, Devine said she hopes for simpler days ahead.
"Hopefully it will get back to the way it was,” said Devine.
