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Local store owners prepare for eventual reopening

In-store retail, with restrictions, is included in Phase II of New York's reopening plan.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — While several shops may have been closed, it certainly wasn't a vacation for many local store owners, including Gaetana and David Schueckler of The TreeHouse Toy Store in Buffalo. 

Gaetana Schueckler said, "He and I have been here behind closed doors, working six-days a week filling online orders and taking phone orders and then using a delivering service or shipping service to get any of the orders we were lucky enough to have come in out the door."  

But, soon stores here will be able to open their doors to customers again, with restrictions, once Western New York enters Phase II of reopening.

Annie Adams, the owner of Second Chic, with locations in Buffalo and Williamsville, said when they get the green light from the governor, they'll be ready. She said, "We're just excited and ready to reopen." 

Still, safety remains a top priority. 

Adams explained, "We ordered an ultraviolet disinfecting wand." 

She added, "We plan on disinfecting after every person comes in and shops and tries things on. Once they come out of the fitting room, anything they don't buy, we're planning on disinfecting those things immediately, and then at the end of the night or first thing in the morning, we'll go through the entire store and disinfect the entire store that way."

However, when the doors do open, things will be different. 

"They'll have masks on so we won't be able to have that same personal interaction," said Adams. She added, "But also we won't be able to physically help that customer try something on by zipping the zipper or the personal touch that we've been able to give people. We won't be able to do that in the same way." 

The TreeHouse Toy Store has its own set of challenges too, especially with children being a big part of the business. 

Schueckler said, "It's very much a hands-on business. The core of a specialty toy store like us is the service aspect." 

Even when the state gives them the okay to allow customers in, Schueckler explained they'll make that decision at their own pace and likely start with more of an appointment-based system.

"So that us and our staff and our customers can get comfortable coming into a store that just a few months ago, touching, playing, experiencing was all a part of who we are," she explained. 

Schueckler added, "We really wanna be careful how we do it to reflect our brand in the same way we have for the last 25 years."

For information on the Phase II guidelines for in-store retail, click here.

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