Reopening Retail: Evangeline's Costume Mansion Focuses On Sanitation, Social Distancing
OLD SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Reopening comes with a lot of changes for retailers, including many things they never thought they would have to do.
At Evangeline's Costume Mansion in Old Sacramento, they've busy preparing for a partial reopening and curbside pickup.
"Here is our hand wipes and sanitizer," said Deborah Chausse's as she walked through the front door of Evangeline's.
Her family has been running the iconic Evangeline's costume shop in Old Sacramento for the last 43 years.
"So many people have been emailing and calling saying 'are you going to be open?' Well the directive doesn't say to be open, the governor said open for curbside pickup," Chausse said.
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The stay-at-home order slowed business, but she is excited to hear the governor is reopening the economy with phase 2, which includes sporting goods stores, bookshops, and some clothing stores.
"We've expanded certain parts of our store and we refinished the wood floors, on the third floor," she said.
To be ready for the partial reopening, Chausse has been changing protocols when it comes to social distancing and other fitting room procedures, like trying on wigs. She said instead of letting customers try on multiple wigs, they may just show off wigs on mannequins.
She also purchased a UVC light used in hospitals to kill bacteria on costumes.
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"So if somebody tries something on, we can sterilize it with the UVC light. We have a little booth set up so people can feel safe," she said.
Many businesses are glad to see the economy opening up again. They just wonder when they will be allowed to fully reopen and regain the revenue they have lost.
"I am hoping it can be days away, maybe tomorrow," Chausse said.
