GREAT BARRINGTON — A little more than one year after the COVID-19 pandemic intruded into our lives, an informal Edge survey of Great Barrington businesses has found that merchants are weary of dealing with the loss of patronage, but are remarkably upbeat about the future, in part because most of them have nowhere to go but up, and they sense a pent-up demand.
On March 22, 2020, shortly after a national emergency was declared and state restrictions on businesses had been put into place by Gov. Charlie Baker, The Edge ran a story on the South County business scene. While few would say it out loud, the mood among downtown Great Barrington merchants was grim.
No one knew how long the lockdowns would continue, whether their businesses could survive, or how many lives the novel coronavirus would take. But almost 13 months later, after nearly 25 percent of Americans have been vaccinated, the mood has improved tremendously. Retailers see the light at the end of the tunnel and winter weather is giving way to warmth that will enable safer outdoor gatherings.
“For all of the southern Berkshires, I think the mood is hugely positive,” said Betsy Andrus, who heads the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. “A lot of people looked at the situation and said, ‘This is an opportunity to make our lives better, to make our businesses better, make everything better.'”
For better or worse, the region has been infused with new blood. Many erstwhile part-time residents have moved from the New York and Boston areas to the Berkshires full-time. Others who did not already own property here have found the region an appealing place to put down roots, either temporarily or permanently.
“This is exciting,” Andrus added. “Obviously, we want more, but it’s an exciting time. The newer people I’ve spoken with are just happy to be here.”
One retailer who has expended a lot of time and effort adapting is Robin Helfand, who owns Robin’s Candy on Main Street. After the initial restrictions were announced in March 2020, Robin’s did not have to shut down completely because it is technically classified as a food store. But she did have to remove one of the most popular features in her store: the self-serve bulk candy bins.
Out of an abundance of caution, Helfand decided to restrict her business to curbside pick-up, e-commerce, and appointment shopping with only one customer permitted in the store at a time. This was not an easy decision because Easter, one of Robin’s busiest periods, was fast approaching.
Since she serves vulnerable populations such as very young children and grandparents — often at the same time — Helfand made sure she got her entire staff vaccinated as soon as possible. On March 16, the Baker administration announced that, beginning March 22, special workers, including “retail or food service workers,” were eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
“We quickly realized we were not going to be able to do it quickly in Berkshire County, but we could do it if we were willing to travel to the mass vaccination sites that were set up,” Helfand said. “So we did what everyone else did and we opened up a number of windows and, within an hour, we had the entire staff booked for appointments.”
Restaurants were permitted to reopen for outdoor dining only on June 8, 2020, but only if they followed a lengthy list of guidelines, including new cleaning protocols, distancing of tables, and making transactions as contact-free as possible. They have since been allowed to reopen to indoor dining but at only 50 percent capacity. And as of March 1, there are no percentage-based capacity caps on restaurants.
Erik Bruun, who owns and operates SoCo Creamery on Railroad Street, told The Edge he struggled initially with how to operate under the new restrictions last spring.
“We phased in a series of changes over the course of 6-8 weeks,” Bruun said. “We had to figure out how to make things work, we did some deliveries, and we did a lot of curbside.”
Bruun said his business was down 25 percent last year, but sales are up over the same time last year, though he could not say precisely how much. Once people were allowed back into the store, he had to limit it to 10 customers at a time. Some customers, however, were hostile to the idea of wearing masks.
“We had 18- and 19-year-olds who were enforcing the mask rules to people who were 50 years older than them,” Bruun recalled. “Most people were great, but the ones who weren’t stood out.”
Bruun said he, too, is optimistic about the upcoming warm-weather season. The closing off of Railroad Street for outdoor dining helped his ice cream store tremendously, he said.
Town Manager Mark Pruhenski has said that practice will continue again this season, but that he and the selectboard will look at improving the experience to make it safer and less disruptive for non-dining businesses on Railroad Street.
One downtown business that has done very well during the pandemic is Rubiner’s Cheesemongers & Grocers on Main Street. Owner Matt Rubiner also runs a coffee and sandwich shop, Rubi’s, behind his store. After the restrictions were imposed last March, he tried to limp along with the coffee shop, offering takeout and orders to eat-in on the small patio overlooking the Taconic parking lot, but, after three weeks, he had to close it because it wasn’t viable economically. He plans to reopen Rubi’s in early June.
But the store itself has succeeded during the pandemic beyond expectations. That success stems, in no small measure, from the influx of well-to-do outsiders who cherish Rubiner’s upscale items. In addition, the store obtained a license to sell wine in late 2018 and, as package store owner Ed Domaney told us last year, alcohol has been flying off the shelves since the pandemic asserted itself. The increase in Rubiner’s grocery business more than made up for the temporary closure of the cafe.
“Our business [the cheese shop] ended the year at more than double the previous year,” Rubiner said in a brief interview in his busy store. “Even including the losses of the cafe, we were up 20 percent.”
“It started as soon as the pandemic hit,” Rubiner surmised. “Suddenly, it seemed like we were in the right place at the right time.”
Another business that has done surprisingly well is Jake’s Barber Shop on Railroad Street near the intersection with Elm Street. Owner Jake Hunker had initially doubled down on his sanitizing efforts and reduced the number of customer appointments to limit the volume of people coming through the door.
Eventually, however, as restrictions were eased, Hunker was able to re-engage his 150–200 clients and bring his customer volume closer to normal. Business was brisk enough that he recently celebrated his fifth year in business by agreeing to donate $5 for each haircut in one recent week to the Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP).
Hunker initially guessed he would raise $400–$500 for RSYP. To his astonishment, he raised approximately $1,000. He and Tiffany Riva, RSYP development director, celebrated last week with a photo of them with the check from Jake’s. Astute observers of the Great Barrington business scene might also recall that Hunker gave free haircuts to veterans on Veterans Day in 2018.
Marijuana stores seem to have rebounded nicely after being forced to close recreational operations in April. The ban was lifted the following month. Theory Wellness in Great Barrington was hit hard initially by the closure, though its medical cannabis operation was allowed to continue.
Theory marketing director Thomas Winstanley said dealing with the pandemic “was the toughest challenge we’ve faced since our operations began in 2015” and that having to shut down recreational sales “had a profound impact on the organization.” Still, he thinks Theory has come back stronger.
“With new operational changes such as sanitizing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and pre-order appointments, we worked hard to adapt to the ever-changing landscape,” Winstanley said. “The reopening in May was one of the busiest days we’ve seen and the market has continued to build, though consumers are still emerging and the business is still evolving.”
At Canna Provisions in Lee, CEO Meg Sanders reports that, after the recreational shutdown, there were “operational business adjustments and wholesale changes that had to happen almost daily to comply with the fast-changing regulations and guidance.”
“It was a real testament to our loyal consumers and fan base that we had one of our busiest times to date the weekend we reopened,” Sanders told The Edge. “Since then, overall our business is thriving.”
Sanders said it was a challenge coping with “supply-chain issues” connected to the COVID disruption this past fall. But Canna’s Sheffield cultivation facility “is about to drop our first line of proprietary supply,” she said. Canna has since seen steady month-over-month increases in visitors to its stores in Lee and Holyoke.
“I’m unbelievably proud of how our team has risen to each challenge this pandemic has presented to everyone, on a personal level and a professional one, as well,” Sanders said. “I’m thrilled that our customers trust us to serve them safely, and it’s only matched by our collective gratitude to be able to operate in a legal state and provide adult-use cannabis for all who want it.”
For a seasoned view of the downtown business community, The Edge also turned to Richard Stanley, who owns the Triplex Cinema and several other buildings downtown.
After a long COVID-induced hiatus, Stanley plans to reopen the Triplex on May 21, the week before Memorial Day weekend. He has no idea how well that will work out.
“It’s like having a party and you don’t know who’s going to come. The thing that determined it for us is Hollywood is starting to release big movies,” Stanley said in an interview from his winter home in Mexico. “It’s my belief that the movie theater will come back. It’s going to take longer than many other businesses, but people want to see movies on the big screen.”
Stanley counts several restaurants in the Barrington House as tenants. In response to their distress last summer, Stanley opened the Barrington Courtyard, an outdoor dining venue in the parking lot for Barrington House restaurants. The courtyard will be reopening this weekend. Joining the fun this season will be at least one tenant that did not participate last year: Siam Square.
In addition, Stanley is excited about Berkshire Busk, a new 10-week summer entertainment festival in which street performers (“buskers“) will perform in designated areas in the early evenings of Friday and Saturday.
“This is exciting,” Stanley said. “The fact that the town is supporting the effort is a big plus for the community.”
For the first time “in quite a few years,” Stanley reports that he does not have a vacant apartment, retail or office space among his various properties, which in addition to the Triplex and the Barrington House, include two buildings on Railroad Street.
The Gifted Child recently closed in one of his buildings on Railroad Street but was promptly replaced by DépartWine, a beer and wine store soon to be owned and operated by David Bruno. Next door, a new cafe, Two Flower, has opened in the space formerly occupied by Botanica.
Stanley even found a tenant to fill the space formerly occupied by Baba Louie’s, which moved from Main Street to Railroad Street in 2019. No one can tell precisely what the business is supposed to be because there is no signage visible, but the former pizzeria’s windows are filled with old record albums, books, and musical instruments. The tenant is Doug Ayotte of Franklin, Massachusetts. The storefront is to be used for “antique music, art, and books,” according to the lease Ayotte signed with Stanley.
“Everyone understands the concept of pent-up demand and that is what is going to be in full force,” Stanley said. “When you start seeing the weather really making the change, you’re going to see it first on the street with more people out and about.”
As The Edge has reported earlier in the pandemic, the real estate market exploded upward as city-dwellers sparked a buying “frenzy,” looking for country properties in order to put distance between themselves and a deadly virus that hit New York and Boston especially hard.
Tom Doyle, a broker for Lance Vermeulen Real Estate, said, after the pandemic set in, there was an initial slowdown in sales and the logistics of executing a closing — with its buyer visits and in-person document signings — were uncertain. But things really picked up in June.
“There was an initial slowdown, but things got stronger in the second half of 2020 and it has continued since the first of this year,” Doyle told The Edge. “Last year had a lot of logistical hurdles to deal with. This year’s hurdle is available inventory.”
Though he did not yet have specific numbers, Doyle said inventories of available homes are “at historic lows.” In the early stages of the pandemic, some people were buying properties sight-unseen, or after a video tour. That kind of impulse buying seems to have abated, he said.
Doyle is doing far more closings than he did last year at this time. He now sees more buyers from the Boston area and from regions other than metropolitan New York and New Jersey than he did at the beginning of last year. And the buyers tend to be from a younger demographic, as well as those who have the ability to work remotely.
Doyle said last Saturday he spent 7½ hours showing a new listing in West Stockbridge. There were multiple showings and multiple offers, and the property quickly went under contract after only four days on the market.
“It’s probably going to take more than one selling season for inventory to start to get back into a more balanced ratio,” he said.
Meanwhile, most offices in Great Barrington Town Hall reopened to the public on March 15. And Stanley had some parting words during our interview: “Keep the faith, baby!”
