Olde Town Arvada Boutiques Anxious About Reopening From Stay-At-Home Order
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - With a mixture of anxiety and relief, small retail stores in Old Town Arvada are getting ready to reopen their doors after weeks of economic suffering.
The stores are easy to access from RTD's G Line train, and before the coronavirus outbreak had experienced similarly trying times when the commuter rail line's opening was delayed by several years. The Gold Line finally opened a year ago, but then the coronavirus came and most of the stores were forced to shut down during the governor's stay-at-home order.
Lori Drienka owns Carly's Boutique with her daughters.
"It started out difficult, then we found a way to help others," she told CBS4's Rick Sallinger.
That way has been through selling masks for charity and leaving them for pickup. Now they are planning cautiously to reopen for walk-in customers.
"You can see it's a small space, it's kind of hard to have a 6 foot space distance. We are trying to figure that out," Carly Drienka-Hallmark said.
Olde Town Arvada is filled with boutiques, small businesses with individual owners trying to make ends meet.
At Balefire Jewelry on Grandview Avenue there's a sign in the window, "How do you maintain physical distancing? We suggest BIG jewelry." They are ready to reopen.
Jamie Hollier showed off the preparations and said "We're planning to have hand sanitizer and paper towels at the front, so coming and going." She added that staff will be wearing masks.
Around the corner, there's a shop for babies and kids called Little by Little.
"Immediately we busted our butts to get our shop on our online," said Alyssa Rossi, one of the co-owners.
They have worked hard trying to get by, and the store's name is reflective of the way Colorado will gradually be reopening its businesses in upcoming weeks.
The new statewide order will allow curbside pickup at retail stores beginning next Monday. Customers can go into the stores starting May 1 as Colorado retail opens "little by little."
Arvada Helps Small Businesses Through Emergency Loans
The City of Arvada announced this week it has granted loans to more than 250 small businesses in the city and its Emergency Small Business Loan Fund has been suspended as all available funds have been distributed. A total of 256 small businesses in Arvada saw some level of financial assistance from the fund, which is intended to help businesses stay active until federal dollars get to the city.
The Arvada Emergency Business Recovery Initiative is still active and taking applications. Business owners interested in applying may do so here.
The business are encouraged, if possible, to repay the loans as fast as possible so that other businesses may benefit from the money.
About RTD's Gold Line
The G Line travels from Union Station in Denver through Olde Town Arvada and up to Wheat Ridge. The line has been popular for commuters who live in the northwest region of the Denver metro area. The train's opening faced several delays in the past due to issues with the crossing gates, which have been resolved.