Marion County retailers shocked by reopening weekend crowds
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Marion County retailers are back open for business and some are calling the reopening weekend a surprising success. Some stores had worried people wouldn’t feel comfortable going out to stores.
A lot of these businesses said they had no idea what to expect. It could have been any number of people coming into their stores, which made them a little nervous to open the doors.
Erin Young Designs stayed hard at work throughout the quarantine making masks, but it was all done behind closed doors. When retail shops opened and shoppers wanting masks and clothing alterations started piling into the store, it was a bit much.
“I was shocked at how many people were coming, not actually abiding by the 6 feet guidelines,” owner Erin Young said. “I was, by the end of the day, nervous.”
Being away from others for so long has small groups looking like a Black Friday sale crowd, and after the nervousness passes, shops like Civvies are happy to see their shops revitalized by those wanting to help out.
“Honestly, we’re just pleasantly surprised people are coming back to us so quickly,” Civvies manager Virginia Meguschar said.
Then there are stores like Luxe Redux Bridal Boutique, which sells dresses to people whose biggest plans are now in chaos.
“Love is not canceled,” Luxe Redux manager Lexie Smith said. “So your wedding might be canceled, but your love is not.”
Giving customers some of that normalcy again with a wedding dress helps bring some joy back into their lives.
“I had a bride today that told me she’s been waiting three weeks for this appointment and we said yes to her dress in less than 30 minutes,” Luxe Redux stylist Savannah Jackson said. “She was jumping up and down. She actually hugged the dress! It was really fun and it was nice to have her in and have some positivity.”
After all of the hardships people have endured through the last few months, the stores say some people just need a little retail therapy to feel like themselves again.
“They want to talk about what they’ve been through,” Young said. “They want to talk about how hard it’s been. They want to talk about how much stress they’ve been under. So you kind of play part psychologist, part dress maker at this point! So I mean, people just want to talk. I think it’s just very interesting. They want to get out and see the world again, make sure it’s still out there and we’re still open.”
The stores News 8 spoke with said based on what they’ve seen so far this weekend, they have a lot of hope for their businesses in the weeks to come. They just want to remind people to obey the health precautions and stay safe.