SAN ANTONIO – While local and state officials work on plans to slowly reopen the economy, small business owners are looking forward to welcome back customers.
Michele and Mitch Allen own IRun Texas, a specialty shop for runners and walkers. The Allens said they are ready to do whatever it takes to start getting more people back in their store.
“We’re willing to do anything,” Michele Allen said.
The Allen's know allowing more people into their store will require employees and customers to wear masks, limiting the number of patrons and having people wait outside or in their cars.
“We want to do what’s best for the community,” Michele Allen said.
Like other small businesses around San Antonio, IRun Texas was hit hard financially by the closure forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our sales are down probably 85% right now,” Mitch Allen said.
Unlike other stores, IRun Texas was deemed an essential business because it fills prescriptions by physicians for orthopedic products. The store is allowed to conduct curbside sales and deliveries, which has helped spur some sales because local officials have encouraged residents to walk or jog.
The sales slump has posed a challenge for the Allen’s to keep their 14-15 full and part time employees.
“Our main concern as this has all developed is keeping our employees and being able to pay them so that they can provide for themselves and their families, so that was always really heavy on our heart," Michele Allen said.
The Allen’s got some much welcomed news this week when they learned they received approval for a small business loan from the government.
“Getting approved for this loan has been huge. It’s been a stress reliever,” Michele Allen said.
The loan will allow the Allen’s to pay their employees at least through May.
“That really helps a tremendous amount,” Michele Allen said.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.
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