HOLYOKE — This was not the plan for The Plan.
Chelsea Falcetti and Tiffany Duchesne brought new life to an old mill in June when they opened The Plan, an environmentally conscious hair salon, in the former Wauregan paper mill on Dwight Street. They had a vision — cutting waste as well as hair — plus they had 12 employees and a busy schedule. Then came the coronavirus.
Though Falcetti, Duchesne and their crew are all in good health, the steady drumbeat of anxiety-provoking bulletins led to a wave of client cancellations. They had a crew but too few customers. So, on Monday, they closed The Plan.
“We couldn’t afford to stay open and we can’t afford to stay closed,” Falcetti said.
The cities of Holyoke and Northampton made decisions Friday to shut down service establishments due to the COVID-19 pandemic because it is difficult if not impossible to keep people 6 feet apart in those businesses — a key recommendation in stopping the virus’s spread.
In Holyoke, hairdressers and barbers, nail salons, massage services, body art and work parlors, along with gyms, are closed until the public health emergency is over. It does not include the city’s licensed child care facilities or services by a licensed allied health care provider.
The closures ordered in Northampton affect mostly the same businesses, as well as aesthetician services, spas and athletic clubs. The move was unanimously voted on Friday by the Board of Health as members said such businesses can’t sufficiently social distance or provide for “adequate disinfection for safe operation at this time.”
Similar steps were taken in Easthampton by the city’s Board of Health on Thursday to shutter many service establishments from March 23 to at least April 6.
In an email sent to its members, Anytime Fitness on King Street in Northampton said they were “committed to playing our part in the COVID-19 containment efforts” and that the gym would be closed until April 6. It is unclear whether Northampton’s order has an expiration date.
“We ask that you stick with us this month and beyond,” the email said. “If keeping your membership open for the time-being will not incur financial strain on you, we humbly ask you to delay suspending and wait this out a little longer with us so that we can remain somewhat financially viable.”
David Vooris is the owner of Nasty Habit CrossFit on Winter Street in Holyoke. He said he locked his business’s doors Friday night upon receiving the order to close from the city.
Vooris said he understands the public health concern, but contended that he can adequately clean and cut his class sizes to five or six people while keeping members 6 feet apart as his gym is large. He said he sent an email to the city’s Board of Health asking for an exception because of this, which was denied.
“We have to abide by the rules — we have to close,” Vooris said. “I don’t want them to revoke my license because we have to do business in the future.”
But doing business in the future, Vooris said, may prove difficult. He said his landlords are not willing to negotiate on rent and he doesn’t have enough in savings to keep his gym afloat for more than a month and a half. In the meantime, Vooris said he’s beginning to try online workout programming for his 60 members, but he doesn’t know how popular that will be. Around a half-dozen members, he said, have already stopped paying.
“If my members have stay-at-home jobs and they’re getting a paycheck, I hope they continue to support me,” Vooris said.
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.