BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — The coronavirus continues to take its toll on small businesses. From new safety measures to a decrease in customers, owners are doing what they can to get by.
Joyful Creations on Bowling Green's Main Street was supposed to open in March but due to the governor's shutdown order, the owners had to push the opening to May when businesses were finally able to reopen.
It was always a dream for Laura Miller and Gayle Brim to open a shop. They both have a passion for crafts and artisan work.
But that dream was put on hold temporarily due to the coronavirus. They finally opened on May 12 with phase 1 of retail businesses reopening. But it's not the opening they imagined with masks and social distancing.
mask mandate is in effect in Wood County now and people are just trying to adjust to the new normal. Shoppers said it's necessary to make people wear masks.
"A lot of people, it's kind of hard to stay six feet apart, because people want to get close to you," said shopper Andrea Palumbo, "and I try so hard. But wear a mask. It's really not that hard, just wear a mask."
Miller and Brim require masks in the store and offer disposable face coverings. They also only allow a handful of customers in at a time and offer hand sanitizer. They said it's not the opening they imagined, but they are making it work.
"It made us better owners together," said Miller, "and brought us together because we felt the same way about ourselves being healthy and other people being healthy, so we felt like we were on the same path."
Despite the circumstances, Miller and Brim said they have gained a few loyal customers in just two months of opening and are confident in their business when things return to normal.