SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Bill's Toggery, a menswear store in Shakopee, has been in Billy Wermerskirchen's family for three generations. The store does not do online sales and Wermerskirchen says they rely on in-store customer service to stand out from competitors.
So, he says the revisions to the stay-at-home order, which include allowing retailers to offer curbside pickup and delivery, will not help his business.
"Because people are missing experiences and service," he said. "It's about survival right now for us."
With prom and upcoming weddings, April is usually the second best month for sales at Bill's Toggery. But most of those events have been cancelled, and Wermerskirchen is now expecting sales to be down about 85% this month. He was down 40% in March.
"I'd like to be able to open for business. I mean, there are a lot of things I can do," he said. "I can control the number of people in my door. I can space out with tape on my floor what six feet is. I can disinfect things."
Wermerskirchen says being a small business owner allows him to control the environment and keep his store safer than some of the bigger retailers who are currently open for in-store sales.
"We go in these larger stores, without naming them, they can be a zoo and not many restrictions are followed. Whether you believe it or not, it's there. It's happening," he said. "I just feel there's a bit of a slight against the independent [business owners]. Because I can control traffic coming in [my] door a lot easier than a big business can."
The owners of neighboring business, ShakRa Yoga & Fitness, say they could reopen safely, too.
"Our studio is big enough where if we put the x's on the floor, like any other business, to place their mat, they'll be six feet away," said co-owner, Elise Steger.
Steger says the business would need a few weeks to adjust and make sure clients could come in safely. ShakRa has been offering virtual classes for the time being, but Steger says it's not the same.
"There's a reason [clients] come in our doors and it's that personal connection," she said. "It's kind of that frustration of, why do some businesses get to open while we can't, when we can follow the same guidelines?"
Barbara Demers, owner of The Pearl Salon in Shakopee, is in a different spot. Because of the high contact nature of the salon business, they are further down on the state's list to reopen.
Demers says even if she could open right now, she's not sure she would. She's unsure about safety, and questions whether the precautions that will likely be necessary when salons open will prevent her from doing the job she'd like.
"Yes, we want to get up and running, but we want to do it in a manner that we can service our guests in the way they're used to being serviced," she said.
Meanwhile, she's taken out a loan to keep the business running. Nearing retirement, she says she questions how long she'll keep going.
"I don't know how far in debt I want to go just to keep my business open," she said. "It's a huge financial loss, for sure."
The National Federation of Independent Business, which advocates for small businesses, called the update to the stay-at-home order "a disappointment."
"So much more could have been done to level the playing field between small retailers and large box stores," they wrote in an emailed statement. "Customers have been allowed to shop at big box stores, while small mom and pop shops have been forced to close their doors. The curbside pickup and delivery allowed under today’s order is certainly a positive first step, but the Governor could have done more to help small businesses. Other states are allowing customers to enter small retail shops – and so should Minnesota."