Reopening Rhode Island: We were ready to get out

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. — At the Bone Appetit eco-friendly dog store on Main Street, the rebirth of “non-essential” brick-and-mortar retail in Rhode Island after more than a month of coronavirus-induced shutdown looked like this:

Customers place the chew toy or dog sweater on a folding table in front of checkout and their cash (or credit card) in a little brown handled shopping bag.

Then store clerk Jim Macelroy, in surgical mask, snares the bag with the pincers of a 3-foot grabber stick and brings the payment to the register to complete a transaction.

This improvised take on “contactless payment” looks awkward at first but, according to Macelroy, “everyone gets a kick out of it.”

“I even wear gloves, even though that’s not part of the requirements,” he said early Saturday afternoon. “At first, people were a little uncomfortable wearing masks, but now, around here at least, everyone is doing it. We don’t let them in otherwise.”

Reopening small shops is the first phase of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s plan to restart a state economy flattened by COVID-19 and to begin to breathe life into main streets and business districts rendered desolate since March.

On Saturday, the first steps toward normalcy were cautious, with no more than about half the non-essential storefronts on Main Street opening their doors.

When she announced Thursday that she was lifting the state’s stay-at-home order, Raimondo urged Rhode Islanders to “get out there and do a little bit of safe shopping."

But many store owners are concerned about how to safely bring back staff and how, with capacity restrictions and depressed foot traffic, to pay them.

Restaurants remain take-out-only with the prospect of summer al fresco dining on the horizon.

“We wanted to open because tomorrow is Mother’s Day,” said Doreen Bullock, co-owner of The Troll Shop, a seller of jewelry, antiques, gifts and metaphysical supplies. “We’ve had a few people come in, but it’s been so cold this morning, there were more people out last weekend. It is tough to tell how much of that is to do with the weather.”

A squirt of hand sanitizer is complimentary for anyone who walks through the door.

At ZuZu’s Petals boutique, owner Lois Hollingsworth said Saturday’s opening is part of a “test run” to see how business works in a coronavirus world. Instead of seven days a week, the store will be open five days and everything is 30% off.

“I’ve had a lot of people come out today. I emailed and put it up on Facebook and all that,” Hollingsworth said as a masked customer took a pink chiffon gown into a changing room. “We are determined to make it through. We’ve had people with gift cards for Mother’s Days and we’re about 31 years in business and I think that is helpful.”

But she acknowledged “it’s going to be a tough month to get through. So many events have been canceled ... fundraisers, proms, graduations. Spring and summer is our busy season and I don’t know how it is going to be.”

In Providence, Triggs Memorial Golf Course opened Saturday for the first time in more than a month after a reversal from Mayor Jorge Elorza.

The parking lot was half full around noon and everyone had a face mask as they headed out to the tee.

“As long as people abide by the rules, this is one of the safest things to do,” said Doug Jackvony, 69, of Smithfield, after completing his morning round.

“I am an old man and this is one of the only ways I get exercise,” he said pointing to his phone showing he had taken 13,000 steps out on the course.

At Lippitt Memorial Park in Providence, the Hope Street Saturday Farmers Market had returned to the green.

Twenty-two local vendors were set up in a roped-off circle with one entrance and one exit so that organizers could keep track of how many people were in the market area at a time. Masked shoppers perused the stands despite flurries of snow and strong winds that blew throughout the morning.

Marni Maclean-Karro, a board member of the Hope Street Farmers Market, said she was glad to be back providing fresh food to Providence residents.

“When we say goodbye to the customers as they’re leaving, they say, ’Thank you for doing this. This was great,’” she said. “I just get a really good sense of community. People forget that, just like grocery stores, farmers markets are essential. Even in the snow.”

Saturday also saw the reopening of some state parks, including Lincoln Woods in Lincoln, where Sharon and Gary Parks were out walking their dogs Sam Adams and Betsy Ross.

“Are you kidding me? Absolutely,” Sharon Parks said when asked if she was excited about Lincoln Woods reopening.

“They love it,” she said about the dogs, who start barking and getting excited whenever they sense a drive to the park is coming.

Following Raimondo’s guidance, the Parks, of Cumberland, were walking without masks when no one was around, but had them at the ready when foot traffic approached.

“I just don’t want them to have to close it again,” Gary Parks said. “Six feet is six feet. How hard is to to stay six feet away?”

Bob and Jean Hemond, of Cumberland, were walking with a camera at the ready for bird sightings, but were surprised so many people at the park were mask free.

“When I pulled into the parking lot it seemed like nobody was wearing a mask,” Bob Hemond said. “I hope we don’t go that direction where everyone just stops.”

“We’ve come so far we don want to end up back where we were,” Jean Hemond said.