As the weather warms, vaccination rates increase and mask mandates fall by the wayside, shops across the state say it’s starting to look like “business as usual” for the first time since the pandemic began.
A noticeable change has taken hold for the past four or five weeks, and especially on the weekends, said Kim Souza, owner of White River Junction clothing store Revolution.
Every day, she said, “there are people walking in the door saying they just got vaccinated. This is the first time they’ve been inside a store in a year, that kind of thing,” Souza said.
In Burlington, data shows that foot traffic and consumer activity at the city’s signature shopping destination is on the rise, according to Kara Alnasrawi, executive director of the Church Street Marketplace.
She said that without a full tourist season, which would include full-size graduations at the University of Vermont and Champlain College, this summer probably won’t look quite like 2019, but there’s a “much greater sense of optimism” about the upcoming season than there was this time last year.
“We’ve seen that foot traffic numbers are often tracking how high the level of the virus is,” Alnasrawi said. “I think it’s been a slow rise since the rollout of the vaccine, and now with the change in the weather in conjunction with Vermont being a national leader in vaccination, we’re seeing a much higher comfort level.”
Restaurants and hotels, she said, have had the toughest go of it because their regulations have been the strictest. But as the virus wanes and regulations loosen, she said things are starting to turn around “at a good steady pace.”
“I feel that we’re on the cusp of turning the corner and rapidly heading back to business as usual. I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but I’m hoping by the fall, it will definitely feel that way,” Alnasrawi said.
Scott Beck, co-owner of bookstore Boxcar and Caboose in St. Johnsbury, said that business has been more or less typical ever since the governor’s stay-at-home order was lifted last May. But he said it might take a little bit longer for the general public to feel that way.
“When we’re at the point where we don’t feel like we need to wear masks, and we don’t see other people wearing masks, I think we’ll be there. But that’s going to take a little longer,” Beck said.
Souza said her store is still requiring masks inside, but since all her staff are only half-vaccinated, she’s still uncomfortable with the abrupt change in state and federal masking guidance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week said fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks indoors, and Gov. Phil Scott followed suit.
But several communities, including Burlington, still have local mask rules in place. Hartford, which is home to the village of White River Junction, and St. Johnsbury do not.
“I definitely have concerns for higher-traffic supermarkets and Walmart, that kind of thing, where people who are considered frontline workers were not given priority for vaccination, and it’s younger people who are often in those conditions,” said Souza, a member of the Hartford Selectboard.
Mark Bouchett, co-owner of home decor business Homeport in Burlington, said recent weeks have made it clear that the roller coaster of the past year and a half is finally letting passengers off the ride.
Sales are approaching “not quite, but almost” levels last seen in 2019, he said.
“So we’re feeling pretty sanguine about things,” he said. “The light at the end of the tunnel is moving closer, and there seems to be some definite movement to normalization, which seems to be a good sign.”
Bouchett said throughout the entire pandemic, the mask mandate has been followed without issue inside his store. He said even with the change in state rules, he expects the same level of rule-following.
“I think this whole past year and a half, I’ve maybe asked two people to put on masks who gave me some grief, and I just asked them to leave,” he said. “People were really considerate and respectful, exactly what you’d expect from Vermonters for the most part.”