Petaluma retailers reopen under new restrictions

Signs of life in Petaluma’s struggling economy emerged in the first week that many retailers were allowed to partially reopen businesses closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Streets in downtown Petaluma’s shopping district were noticeably busier with parked cars and foot traffic that had all but dried up since the shutdown began eight weeks ago.

“It feels like a holiday like the Fourth of July,” said Chris Miano, general manager of Tall Toad Music on Petaluma Boulevard. “You can tell there are more people out and about. It’s not a total ghost town.”

Tall Toad is one of several Petaluma businesses taking advantage of new rules for retailers announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sonoma County Health Officer Sundari Mase. A wide array of stores can now serve customers at the door or the curbside under the new orders.

Miano said a few customers have stopped by for music supplies like guitar strings.

“Musicians liked to come in and hang out all day long,” said Miano, who has kept two of the store’s five employees. “We’re not ready for that.”

Only about a third of the retail stores in downtown Petaluma were open Friday as customers adapted to a new way of shopping. Opera House Collective brought a table of clothing out to the curb for shoppers to browse. Home goods shop i Leoni let shoppers inside, provided they applied a healthy dose of hand sanitizer first. Customers could point to merchandise from the open door of Nan Winters clothing shop.

At Threads a Boutique on Kentucky Street, owner Alicia Dockery had the door open but a folding table blocked the entryway. Passersby could also point to merchandise from the door and she would bring it to them.

“We can see people are getting out, which is good,” she said. “We’ve been closed since March 16 so this is some relief, but we’re not there yet.”

The new rules are the second step in California’s four-part reopening plan. The Petaluma Village Premium Outlets was preparing to start curbside pick-up, although no stores were open as of Tuesday.

Not much had changed at Petaluma’s three big box shopping centers Friday. Target, PetSmart and Friedman’s Home Improvement, all essential businesses that never closed, remained busy this week. TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Ulta, Ross and Big 5 Sporting Goods were closed. Dick’s Sporting Goods was open for curbside pick-up.

The most visible signs of Petaluma’s reopening was downtown, where a handful of shoppers, most in masks, perused storefront windows along Petaluma Boulevard. Steve Stafford, a city planner, came downtown Friday to buy his wife some jewelery at Robindira Unsworth.

“It’s good to support local vendors who aren’t doing so well,” he said.

Vanda Floral Design was open for pick-up at its warehouse, but the retail shop remained closed, owner Bryce Loutsch said.

“Our store is a small space, and it’s very difficult for our staff to do distancing,” he said. “We have been doing deliveries, now we can do pick-up. It’s been so busy we’re at max capacity. That has been one bright spot.”

Vanda laid off all of its 13 employees at the outset of the shutdown, but has since hired back eight workers, Loutsch said.

To help local businesses with the recovery effort, the Petaluma Downtown Association, Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Petaluma on Friday launched the online shopping portal shoppetaluma.com. The site highlights different Petaluma businesses by category and geographic location and lists their current services and restrictions.

Holly Wick, owner of Athletic Soles shoe store downtown, said she had been doing a steady delivery business during the shutdown as more people have been out walking and need athletic shoes. She received a federal small business loan, which helped retain her employees.

On Friday, Athletic Soles was open for curbside shopping.

“We did get one walk-up today, but no one’s knocking down the doors,” Wick said. “People are going to come back at their own comfort level.”

At Toy B Ville, clerk Gabby Rodriguez said the new retail rules were unclear, and she would let customers briefly come into the toy store, if they knew what they wanted.

“We’re not sure what is allowed,” she said. “That’s why the door is locked. We don’t want any problems. But it’s been really slow.”

Copperfield’s Books, which was not open Friday, began offering curbside pick-up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting on Monday. Myrna Giunchigliani said she made a special trip into town Friday from rural west Petaluma in the hopes that Copperfield’s would be open.

“I don’t know where else to get books,” the 85-year-old said. “I wish we’d get back to some normalcy soon.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)