Coronavirus Latest: Philadelphia Small Businesses Being Forced To Adapt During Shutdown
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The coronavirus outbreak is an ever-changing situation and businesses are being forced to adapt. That includes many of the small businesses in the Philadelphia area.
Many of the restaurants across the city were able to adapt by offering takeout, but for many other businesses, they're in new territory trying to stay afloat.
"We went from being a taproom with a capacity of over 200 people to having that taproom completely shutdown and income stream completely shutdown," Melissa Walter of Love City Brewing said.
The only thing still normal at Love City Brewing is that they're still making beer. Owners Melissa and Kevin Walter were forced to close their taproom just north of Chinatown to adhere to Gov. Tom Wolf and Mayor Jim Kenney's social distancing directives.
"I went from knowing how to run a taproom to figuring out how to run a business like Amazon or goPuff or something," Melissa Walter said.
They laid off their bar staff, but other employees are now fulfilling online orders. Beer can now only be picked up at the brewery or delivered to your house.
It's a similar situation at Spuntino Pizzeria in Northern Liberties.
"It's like a final exam for us," Salvatore Carollo said. "And a lot have had to cram."
Philadelphia-based delivery service goPuff is reporting an increase in sales. They say rather than people ordering a bag of chips or a case of beer, people are ordering everyday essentials.
"We've seen a lot of orders for cleaning products, over-the-counter medicine and orders for pantry staples. So pasta, bread, canned goods and baby products," Brigid Gorham with goPuff said.
Also, many delivery services are offering contactless deliveries, meaning you can request to have the shipment placed at your door rather than having to retrieve them immediately.