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Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 8:01 PM EDT Mar 27, 2020
A quick look at retail and restaurant changes this week.
New orders shut shops
Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order that closed non-essential businesses went into effect Wednesday morning to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. Read the order in its entirety at evers.wi.gov.
The shutdown includes retail stores with the exception of those selling everyday needs like groceries, liquor, prescriptions and hardware. Shuttered retailers, meanwhile, can continue to operate online via apps, websites and Facebook.
Restaurants and bars can still offer takeout and delivery. See an updated list of more than 150 restaurants and food businesses doing curbside carryout and/or delivery. Many encourage customers to pay over the phone or via online apps to minimize human contact curbside and in drive-thrus.
No more curbside
Acoca Coffee in downtown Appleton suspended its curbside coffee service. It continues offering what co-owner Bill Wetzel calls “socially distanced safe delivery” of beans and ground coffee to homes and businesses.
Car sales suspended
Bergstrom Automotive suspended its retail operations at the end of the day Tuesday, but continues to offer emergency service at all of its 30 dealerships around the state. See more details in the story “Fox Cities businesses learn fate under ‘stay at home’ order.”
More: Readers react with anger to businesses allowed on ‘safer-at-home’ order
Senior hours
Costco is the latest to offer special senior hours, 8-9 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, for those 60 and older. Regular weekday hours were shortened to 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
More senior hours: Pick ‘n Save (6-8 a.m. daily), Walmart (6-7 a.m. Tuesday), Target (8-9 a.m. Wednesday) and Dollar General (8-9 a.m. daily).
Unemployment surge
Retail and restaurant closures contributed to spikes in both U.S. unemployment claims (nearly 3.3 million last week) and Wisconsin claims (almost 90,000 from Sunday through Thursday). Since March 15, more than 159,000 Wisconsinites filed new unemployment claims.
Postponed
Lush was originally scheduled to open Monday in the Fox River Mall. With the mall and non-essential retailers closed, its opening was postponed to an unspecified date. See updates at Lush Cosmetics Fox River Mall on Facebook.
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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