Merchants in downtown Concord deal with pandemic, road closures

CONCORD, N.C. (WBTV) - Locally owned, or mom and pop businesses, are often described as the backbone of the economy, but that backbone has been stretched to the breaking point in many areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who survive say they often must be creative.

In downtown Concord, business owners aren’t just dealing with the pandemic, but road work right outside their front door.

“You plan for contingencies and you budget, and this just came out of left field,” said Dan Levinson of Ellis Jewelers, a mainstay in downtown Concord for 67 years.

Anna Berg of Press & Porter, a relative newcomer to Union Street said “We were pretty lucky our first year open, we did pretty well. We had no idea what was ahead.”

“It’s just about adapting and it’s about change, and if you’re not scared of change then most likely you’ll be okay,” said Levinson.

Both merchants are part of a diverse group of shops in downtown Concord.

“Our downtown is really just an interesting mix of people and businesses that really make the community what it is,” said Johnson Bray of the Concord Downtown Development Corporation. “One of the things that we are trying to do is just bring any opportunity to our downtown businesses, not just because of COVID but because of the construction we have going on downtown.”

Berg at Press & Porter had to adapt quickly. She says loyal customers sustained the business after a closure of two months during the Phase 1 shut down.

“The closure definitely shook us, but it taught us a lot moving forward,” Berg said. “We have die-hard loyal customers and they definitely pulled us through.”

Then on Monday, another surprise, that at first was a real concern; Union Street was closed to thru traffic.

“We definitely were shocked Monday and weren’t sure how it was gonna (work), but it has not slowed us down at all,” Berg said.

At Ellis Jewelers, Dan Levinson had already discovered how to reach customers with social media and online auctions…a road closed right outside his front door? No problem.

“They can still come down here there’s just no outlets, not a big deal, they can still park in front of Ellis Jewelers, they can still park in front of all the other stores, it’s really a minor thing,” Levinson said.

“Development comes with a lot of growing pains and so we’re seeing some of that right now,” added Bray.

Construction on the courthouse means some road closures, but drivers can still get to the businesses. That’s good news for merchants either just getting established, or those with a history.

“If you get creative you know there’s limitless possibilities which is what we did,” said Berg.

“It is so cool,” Levinson added. “We have learned a lot of things.”

On Saturday a special event will be happening in Union Street. The street will be closed and merchants will have special sales promotions, food, and drinks throughout the day as part of the Small Business Saturday-Christmas in July event.

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