Thousands of non-essential retail stores in Northern Colorado were given the green light to reopen for curbside pickup on Monday, marking the start of the state鈥檚 phased 鈥渟afer-at-home鈥� policy. Realtors were also able to start showing homes in-person again after being limited to virtual tours for more than a month.
After closing in late March and laying off all but one of his employees, Charley Dickey, owner of Rustic Mountain Charm in Estes Park, welcomed back two workers. They helped fill curbside orders and clean up the home decor shop in preparation for a grand reopening later this week.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about opening up,鈥� Dickey said. 鈥淭his has been a huge loss for the past 30 days and we鈥檙e hopeful we can start making money again.鈥�
The first day back, Dickey said he filled a 鈥渧ery limited鈥� number of orders over the phone and online. He was looking forward more to Friday, when retailers in Larimer County can officially start letting customers indoors.
鈥溾€楥urbside retail鈥� is kinda a contradiction of a term,鈥� Dickey said. 鈥淧eople browse through our store and see what they wanna buy. We can鈥檛 come to the front of the store and say 鈥榃hat would you like to buy?鈥� Because they don鈥檛 know.鈥�
The start of the state鈥檚 reopening came the same day as Colorado surpassed 700 recorded deaths from COVID-19. The state now also has nearly 14,000 confirmed positive cases of the disease. show most Coloradans would prefer extending the statewide stay-at-home order vs. reopening the economy.
But in a press conference Monday, Gov. Jared Polis defended his decision to begin the reopening process.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no easy answers here,鈥� Polis said. 鈥淚鈥檝e consulted with medical professionals, workers, business leaders and I strongly believe this is the best path forward.鈥�
, Polis showed several graphs illustrating how Colorado鈥檚 infection and hospitalization rates have dropped significantly over the past few weeks, mostly thanks to residents鈥� social distancing efforts. He also said the state has been able to beef up its PPE supply, hospital capacity and testing abilities over the past month.
鈥淲e鈥檙e laser focused on providing a safer, sustainable environment where people can earn a living and be reasonably safe in the presence of a deadly virus,鈥� Polis said.
In Greeley, a number of hair salons reopened under Weld County鈥檚 new 鈥渟afer-at-work鈥� guidance. The county last week urged small businesses to open at their own pace, defying the state鈥檚 stricter 鈥渟afer-at-home鈥� rules.
On Monday, customers filled every chair at The Bar. Ber. Shop, a barbershop in Greeley that also offers full bar service. Stylists trimmed shaggy-haired clients in chairs spaced at least six feet apart. Most wore masks.
Jose Oregel, the owner, said he made the decision to reopen earlier than the state allowed after getting the green light from Weld County. He said the conflicting messages from state and county governments have caused confusion among the business community.
鈥淭his is all a big ol鈥� headache,鈥� Oregel said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to know what this game is that they鈥檙e playing. Just tell me if I can or can鈥檛 open up and that鈥檚 it.鈥�
Oregel said he plans to keep cutting hair this week unless the local health department asks him to close.
Under the state鈥檚 safer-at-home rules, barbershops and some tattoo parlors are allowed to reopen Friday with strict precautions. Next week, offices can begin letting up to 50% of workers return.
That鈥檚 if they operate in a community that hasn鈥檛 extended its local stay-at-home order.
Denver, Boulder, Jefferson, Adams and Arapahoe counties have extended their local stay-at-home orders until at least May 8. Larimer County said in a statement it would more or less allow business reopenings along the state's safer-at-home timeline.
Other safer-at-home rules
The patchwork of rules around the state means Colorado鈥檚 economic recovery will likely be uneven. Kat Rico, program director at the Loveland Small Business Development Center said the region鈥檚 event-based businesses, such as the performing arts, still likely won鈥檛 start bringing in revenue for months.
鈥淚t鈥檚 affecting every industry very differently,鈥� Rico said. 鈥淪ome businesses still can鈥檛 open up, so it鈥檚 really hard to do any kind of blanket statement.鈥�
Other businesses that can start to reopen in the coming weeks include medical practices, such as dentists, that perform elective procedures.
Businesses with high densities of customers, including nightclubs, gyms and spas, will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
