NORTHAMPTON — Just walk into Thornes Marketplace and you’re likely to instantly notice some changes — door monitors now sit at entrances to ensure patrons are wearing face masks, “one-way” lanes are brightly marked on the ground to encourage social distancing, and hand sanitizing stations are sprinkled in and around shops.
Such precautions against the spread of COVID-19 may now feel like second nature to some patrons as businesses begin to reopen around the area. But they help both customers and employees stay safe with all of the shops at Thornes Marketplace — as of last Monday — now open seven days a week on reduced hours, according to Jody Doele, marketing manager at Thornes.
“We want people to know that we’re here for them, it’s a safe space and we’d love to see them,” Doele said.
After being forced to close in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Doele said Thornes Marketplace reopened on June 8 and asked its merchants to open five days a week. Now, Thornes is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The shopping center has implemented added precautions to combat the spread of COVID-19, such as air filters, propping the entrance and exit doors open and the sanitization of the building every night.
Doele said Thornes has a total of 22 shops and restaurants as well as 10 or 12 office users; no store had to permanently shut down during the pandemic closure. Since Thornes reopened in June, Doele said there’s been much less foot traffic coming through the shopping center, though she did say last Saturday was their busiest day yet. She said Thornes will reassess foot traffic data in mid-August to see whether its hours should be expanded.
“Now that we’re open, that these folks are open, it’s not like all of the problems are solved and miracles occur. This is going to be the tough time,” Doele said. “Because they’re paying all of their bills, and they’re not getting a lot of revenue from sales.”
On the first floor of Thornes Marketplace Thursday morning, Cedar Chest store manager Dani Antes and business manager Dror Shmerling said the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity for the business to create something that it had been looking to start for a while: an online store.
“That’s what saved us as a store,” Shmerling said. Employees have packed and shipped everything from the physical storefront, according to Shmerling. He said three managers put 20% of the entire store online by themselves.
Hand sanitizer can be found across the store, some displays were taken down, and directional markings on the ground help decongest areas that may lead to crowding. Employees must take their temperatures and report on 11 possible health issues before coming in to work, Shmerling said.
“We clean constantly,” Antes said.
Right next door, Miles Porter-Phillips, sales manager at the Northampton Olive Oil Co. was working behind a counter featuring a new plastic barrier erected to protect employees. The store provides samples of olive oils to its customers, but despite precautions by employees, some people coming in don’t feel comfortable with the samples because of COVID-19, they said.
“It’s a totally different experience working here now that COVID is happening,” Porter-Phillips said.
Outside of Booklink Booksellers, Northampton resident Jonathan Price said he came to Thornes to speak with the book store’s manager about a new book he was just starting to read. He said he doesn’t think it’s too early for Thornes Marketplace to open as he thought they did a good job with taking precautions.
“I feel OK with Thornes doing what they did,” Price said, adding he’s been less impressed with other stores that have reopened in Northampton. “It’s smart that they’re paying someone to sit at the door, and just be a reminder. Humans need reminding, unfortunately, about what some of us would consider ‘the obvious.’”
Down stairs marked with yellow directional arrows, natural foods store Cornucopia co-owner Jade Jump said her shop also pivoted to online orders while her store was closed. That helped keep the store, which she owns with her husband, Nate Clifford, afloat during that time, she said. New ordering methods implemented during the lockdown will likely stay as an option going forward, she said.
“We were really humbled by the number of orders that came in for us,” Jump said. “It was hard for us to keep up with them in the beginning.”
Cornucopia just opened physically three weeks ago, Jump said, and considering all of the outside factors, she said they’ve seen “pretty good” foot traffic.
Ellen LaFleche of Northampton came to Thornes on Thursday to shop at Cornucopia. She’s observed groups of people walking downtown without face masks, which bothers her, but said that in Thornes Marketplace she’s seen everyone wearing a mask. She praised Cornucopia’s new ordering methods and the extra plastic gloves and hand sanitizer posted outside of the store.
“I feel really safe,” LaFleche said.
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.