Back to work: Restaurants, shops open with care




Kylie Garcia prepares a pizza to go into the oven at Urban Bricks Pizza on May 1. Being able to greet customers by saying “Welcome to Urban Bricks” was something they were looking forward to as they reopened the dining room. SAM FOWLER | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

Kylie Garcia prepares a pizza to go into the oven at Urban Bricks Pizza on May 1. Being able to greet customers by saying “Welcome to Urban Bricks” was something they were looking forward to as they reopened the dining room. SAM FOWLER | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

Sheila Crouch, owner of Paisley’s, was greeted with shoppers waiting outside her storefront prior to their 10 a.m. opening on Friday, May 1.

It was the first time the clothing store was able to open with a 25% capacity limit under Gov. Greg Abbott’s new guidelines to reinvigorate the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Crouch, her daughter and Store Manager, Stormi and employee Tristen Conley greeted customers with an offering of margaritas in hopes of turning the corner during the pandemic.

“We’re slamming the door on April and welcoming May with a margarita,” Sheila said.

Though they’re open, Paisley’s is still making sure to adhere to strict sanitation guidelines and social distancing protocols. Curbside service and delivery are still available for customers who are cautious about going into a store, as well.

While it’s not required, customers and staff are also encouraged to wear protective masks in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. In fact, Paisley’s sells protective masks for their customers.

South Texas Natural Wellness Owner D.J Swan (right) and CBD Sales Associate Brittany Bradberry (left) remained opened altogether as an essential business during the shutdown of businesses in Texas, but made the adjustment to curbside and online orders to better serve the needs of their customers. SAM FOWLER | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

South Texas Natural Wellness Owner D.J Swan (right) and CBD Sales Associate Brittany Bradberry (left) remained opened altogether as an essential business during the shutdown of businesses in Texas, but made the adjustment to curbside and online orders to better serve the needs of their customers. SAM FOWLER | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

“We got our first shipment on [April 23] and we sold out in less than 24 hours, over 500 masks,” Sheila said. “We were shocked. Who would’ve thought?”

The store voluntarily shut down a week before Gov. Abbott’s executive order on March 31 to temporarily closed non-essential businesses like retail stores, barber shops and nail salons. Paisley’s saw it as the opportune time to promote their new online shop which went live in January of this year.

Sheila put research into how to install an effective online store at the end of 2019 and the site went live just before the pandemic started.

“I was hellbent that, come 2020, we were going to be online,” Sheila said. “I waited until the end of [2019] so that I could lower inventory. Then, anything new could be put online. Well, we were forced to put everything online in a mad dash. We closed down a week before we had to. My daughter and I came up here every day and took our time putting everything online.”

Macy Jackson shops around in Paisley’s on May 1, the first day retail stores were allowed to reopen at 25% capacity under Phase 1 of Gov. Abbott’s plan to reopen Texas. SAM FOWLER | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

Macy Jackson shops around in Paisley’s on May 1, the first day retail stores were allowed to reopen at 25% capacity under Phase 1 of Gov. Abbott’s plan to reopen Texas. SAM FOWLER | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

In addition to their online store, Stormi came up with the idea to allow their customers to shop via video chat. The idea came to her after realizing the efficiency that came with a video call rather than just sending pictures.

“I’m very hands-on with people, I like to talk to them,” Stormi said. “To not be able to see my customers has been hard for me.

“I had customers messaging me on my personal [Facebook] account on messenger. I was like ‘Why don’t I FaceTime you and we do virtual shopping?’ … That did really well for us.”

With the option to dine in at restaurants on the table as well, a chance at normalcy starts to creep back into frame for local restaurateurs like Misty Wiechring, Owner and Manager of Urban Bricks Pizza. Friday brought customers in to sit down and enjoy a meal for the first time in about a month. It was exciting for the staff at Urban Bricks to greet their customers as they walked in with “Welcome to Urban Bricks!”

“My staff this morning said they really missed saying that to people as they walked through the door,” Wiechring said, “because that’s what they do when they greet them. I never thought I would really miss saying that, but I did. This morning we got to say it a couple times and we were really excited. We’re just excited to see some things return back to normal.”

Social media and advertising are what has helped the upstart pizza parlor weather the storm of this pandemic. Those avenues of exposure helped them remind the community of their drive-thru and delivery services. While the dining room is open at 25% capacity, Wiechring still wants customers and employees to feel safe.

“Social media has honestly been our biggest blessing, as well as the newspaper,” Wiechring said. “[It lets] everybody know that we are still here, we are still open. We’re trying to serve everyone the best we can. We want everyone to feel safe. That’s very hard to do, especially with this going on and the Governor putting mandates in place. It’s very hard, but we walk that fine line we want to serve you, but we want to serve you safely.”

In mid-December, the South Texas Natural Wellness opened up with their assortment of CBD supplements.

With CBD offering relief to anxiety and stress, as well as chronic aches and pains, Owner DJ Swan felt the current situation was a blessing in disguise.

“Because of the business we have and what our products are for — the anxiety, stress level, sleep — it’s been good,” Swan said.

But the young business still met challenges during the pandemic. The goal was to ease into the online realm. But, with people opting to stay home and not go into stores, that goal quickly shifted to meet the needs of their customers.

“It was hard. We had to get our website up to date and ready to go really quick because we didn’t know if Pleasanton was going to close us,” Swan said. “Being a CBD store, we fall under medical needs. So, we’re considered essential. We don’t have any vape products and that differentiates us from other stores. We focus solely on health and well-being. I think that’s helped us a lot, really.”

Customers quickly drove in from as far as Devine and Tilden to get the supplements they needed because there was uncertainty around whether or not South Texas Natural Wellness would be forced to close. That spurred Swan and her staff to shift to more curbside and online orders. “More online orders than what I ever expected us to do,” Swan said, “because people want to sit down with you, see the product and they want you to explain it.”

However, the support from the community and other businesses is what Swan thinks has helped Pleasanton and Atascosa County ride out the storm of COVID-19.

“Honestly, I think this has put us all in a position, especially me, to reach out to other people,” Swan said. “While of course, my business surviving and thriving is a goal, I feel I’ve been put in a position to help others. I feel I’ve been put in a position to reach out, not just to other business owners, but just our community in general. So many people just need someone to smile at them.”

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