Tucsonans feel the pain as business dwindles amid virus fears, new regulations
From the Tucson-area coronavirus coverage from January to March: Nearly 1,300 cases in Arizona, stay-at-home order series
Tucson employees and business owners say they're facing hardships as customers stay home, and local governments institute new rules to fight the spread of coronavirus. Here are their stories:
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Nikki Lopez, 28, is the head bakery chef for Caffe Luce’s downtown location. She said the shop’s shift to pick-up and delivery only has left her worried about her finances. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the baking I’ve been doing for all three shops,“ she said. “Family wise I have a son, so I’m really worried how that’s going to affect me being here at 2:30 in the morning to my normal time.”
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Kellen Fortier, 37, said Wooden Tooth Records had support throughout the first few days of the pandemic spread, but has died down a little bit since. The co-owner of the shop said they are focusing on creating more of an online presence. “We're scanning in all of our new items like all of our new records and they will be available to browse at some point soon once we get everything up,” Fortier said. “So people will be able to call us and can tell us what they want. We’re offering free shipping on things over $25 and even offering free delivery for records which seems kind of ridiculous. We're just trying to figure it out.”
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Andres Marmion, 22, relocated Berry Greens Acai & Juice Bar to downtown Tucson just a couple of weeks ago. He said they rely on foot traffic from Congress Street, but closures have cut their clientele. So he’s working on developing an online ordering system for customers to order in advance. “We for sure have been hit pretty hard,” he said. “We still get orders but it’s very, you know, hit or miss throughout the hours. We'll go a couple hours without an order and then we'll have one hour with several orders. We're still kind of trying to gauge like how it's actually going to affect us in the coming weeks, but so far it's been rough.”
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Anita Curran, 58, has seen a decrease in customers since the shift to pick-up and delivery only at Nook. The manager and pastry chef said she wants the restaurant to be a positive space for employees. “It's a difficult time that we're all going through,” she said. “We're all in it together. I really believe that we're going to make it. It's hard, not only for us as a small business, but there's so many out there that are going through the same thing.”
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Jesus Padilla, 66, said his store, Iguana Café in downtown, has been hurt very badly by the pandemic. “We don’t have delivery,” Padilla said. “It’s only me and my wife right now so we don’t have anyone to go and deliver.”
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Kylie Meyers, 29, just took over as the new owner of 4th Avenue Deli. She said the streets have been quieter, but people are still coming in. They’re pushing to-go orders and trying to implement bike deliveries. “It's definitely a little stressful,” she said. “I think it's a stressful time for everyone though, just being so unsure of what's going to happen and when or how long this is going to last. But, there's a great community here. Everybody's been really supportive trying to support local businesses and each other.”
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Madeleine Moore, 19, took a job as a sales associate this August at Pitaya, a boutique in the Main Gate Square. The University of Arizona freshman was living in the dorms but is moving back into her Tucson home after the campus asked students to stay away if they could. “We've definitely seen a huge dip in customers just because most of our clients are U of A or Pima students and are primarily girls who are looking for clothes for school or going out,” she said. "There isn't a lot of that going on right now.”
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Olivia Gaxiola, 26, has had to shut down FIT Boutique Studio, her downtown fitness center that hosts barre and cardio classes. She’s frozen memberships and is teaching virtual classes in the mornings and evenings on Instagram live. “It's been hard because everything's just frozen right now,” she said. “As far as the studio goes, we are still there. I'm still there. As a business owner, I'm making sure that I still do my job and I post live classes every day. But it's definitely been really, really hard. When this began, it was my hope to stay open as long as possible to give a positive place to keep each other encouraged in moving.”
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Rob Villa, 30, said that The Scented Leaf has shifted to take-out only at both its locations in downtown and near the University of Arizona. “As of right now, it's okay,” Villa said. “Business definitely slowed down a little bit, but we're still getting a lot of regulars. It's a little bit different. It's a little bit weird, and we're doing all right so far. We're just a little bit anxious about the next few weeks, you know, if we have to close, if business keeps going slower or if Congress Street is going to be just like a dead zone.”
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Rocco DiGrazia, 50, said his pizzeria, Rocco’s Little Chicago, is going to start delivering for the first time in seven years. He said he’s had to cut some staff hours, but thinks the business will be okay because delivery is an untapped market. “We’re down staffing a little bit,” he said. “I've tried to keep as many people on staff as possible. We’re doing it by seniority and availability.”
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