Barbershops, Salons Now Open In Porter County, But With Restrictions
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Business is back and booming for some once shuttered shops in Indiana.
Much of the state now allows for dine-in services at restaurants. Salons and barbershops can also reopen.
CBS 2 Steven Graves has more from Porter County where the experience will not be the same. That's because pandemic procedures mean social distancing and calculated cleaning. It also meant some customers had to be turned away.
If you did not have an appointment at American Trim and Style in Portage, this happened:
"The earliest time we have is about 2:30 today."
Phones rang off the hook Monday as people tried to get a fresh cut. After COVID-19 shutdown the shop for month, demand is high. But there are fewer barbers and seats for social distancing.
Masks are required and no one can sit in the shop and wait.
"It's just a mad house. I can't even keep up," said owner Alexander Calovic. "This is new for us. We're usually walk-in so we had to revamp the whole shop."
Restaurants are also dealing with a revamp as diners are now welcome in-house. But only at 50% capacity. White Xs mark the tables that aren't available at Round the Clock restaurant in Chesterton. Disposable paper menus are the new normal.
"The booths that we have and the tables that we have are actually staggered in order to meet the social distancing protocol," said manager Ralph Bernardo.
A sign on the door tells you to go home if you feel sick. A warning, as many Porter County shops now prepare for a surge from other areas.
Lake and Marion counties will have to wait another week to open like this because of high COVID-19 cases. Many people around the state are also itching to get back to work as more than 625,000 people have lost jobs during the pandemic.
Serenity Hair Salon and Spa in Chesterton now has 44 of its workers back. Here, customers must undergo temperature checks, dividers split up hair washing stations and staff waits 10 minutes after sanitizing before taking clients.
"To have to shut down in two days was very difficult for our staff and employees so we're very happy to get going," said owner Wendy Krantz-Plinovich.
Some businesses said they do not want to reopen just yet for safety and even food supply worries. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb hopes entire state will be completely reopened by July 4.
