South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster reversed an earlier executive order on April 20 that allowed for the reopening of thousands of nonessential businesses in the state.
Those businesses included mostly retail, such as department stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, florists, bookstores, furniture, home furnishings stores and more -- virtually any business that did not require close contact between customers and store staff.
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[McMaster issues new emergency declaration as SC begins to reopen]
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster reversed an earlier executive order on April 20 that allowed for the reopening of thousands of nonessential businesses in the state.
Those businesses included mostly retail, such as department stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, florists, bookstores, furniture, home furnishings stores and more -- virtually any business that did not require close contact between customers and store staff.
It's been nine days since that order, and many businesses have not turned the lights back on.
The Galleria Mall in Rock Hill, for example, opened almost immediately, but that's misleading. The food court is closed, large anchor stores are closed and so are most of the businesses in the mall's main hallway.
There were some shoe stores and a few clothing stores open Wednesday, but the mall parking lot was still empty.
It's a similar story at Manchester Village on the other side of Interstate 77.
Dick's Sporting Goods and Michael’s are open, TJ Maxx, Ross and Books-a-Million are not.
Customers were seen driving past or walking up to clothing stores only to find them still locked.
Jeff Towery found it frustrating.
"I'm trying to find a pair of shoes. I need a haircut, several essential needs, ya know? Just everyday stuff," he said.
However, “everyday stuff,” isn't like it used to be now.
Jim Surratt and his wife were both wearing masks as they walked up to TJ Maxx expecting the store to be open for business.
"I want to see people go back to work. I don't want it to happen too fast, but they should be able to open," he said.
A TJ Maxx employee said they were doing training but wasn't sure when the store would reopen.
Rob Youngblood is the president of York County’s Regional Chamber of Commerce.
He said businesses are taking differing approaches to reopening.
"They're different schools of thought. Some are ready to jump back in immediately and have things just the way they were. Others are more cautious to make sure that employees and customers, of course, are taken care of," he said.
Youngblood refereed to a new survey of South Carolina businesses. It found that in small business with less than 50 workers, 40% of them had real concerns that they would not be able to reopen at all.
"We want our small businesses to not just survive but thrive. But right now, many are in sort of a survival mode, and we're trying to keep them alive," he said.
There are shops that are open, but you may have to look for a while to find them. It's best to call the store you want to visit or check their hours online before you make the trip.
Some businesses are operating under reduced hours either due to a smaller staff or because they aren’t expecting as much foot traffic.
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