SAUGATUCK, Mich. — With so much uncertainty surrounding the novel coronavirus, businesses owners on the lakeshore are planning safety measures ahead of the summer season.
"Like most towns here in West Michigan where tourism is our main industry, [summer is] the meat in our sandwich," said Gregory Muncie, director of the Saugatuck Douglas Business Association. "We felt it was time to look at our events and start reimagining them."
Many small businesses in the area were closed for the winter and are now waiting for Governor Whitmer to allow them to open, said Elizabeth Estes, who owns the Coast 236 restaurant on Culver Street.
"We're thoughtful to the point that we don't just want to open our doors for the summer season without being thoughtful about safety for the visitors and for the residents," Estes said.
Over the last week, Estes started hosting Zoom calls for small business owners to help them work through loan and grants processes. Later calls focused on how the business community can plan for the summer season.
"If you don't have a safety protocol and [the area] becomes a hot spot, you ruin the whole season," she said.
Business owners and residents were encouraged to complete surveys detailing potential safety measures to be implemented this summer. These could include social distancing grids at concerts, contact-less payments and spread out tables at restaurants, Muncey said.
"[We want] a plan of agreement all of our businesses can get on board [with], so that we can present this and advertise it out that we're taking these precautions," he said. "We still want everybody here in the summer."
Some form of suggested protocols should surface in the next few weeks, Estes said.
"I really think that, based on the response we've gotten from many businesses, that a lot of us will jump on board and say, 'We're all in,'" she said. "We are stronger together as a community."
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