A day after Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve made a declaration that all non-essential businesses temporarily shut down by Friday, many already closed their doors. The mandatory closures include bars, nightclubs, gyms and dine-in restaurants. The goal is to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Mena Spodobalski is the owner of Evoke Fitness. She held her last classes, Tuesday morning and locked the doors.

"To shut down and turn off the lights and I turned down the thermostat and all that, and I was like, it just felt really weird," Spodobalski said.

Spodobalski says between 1,200 and 1,500 clients go to her fitness center. She also has nine trainers who are out of work during the temporary closure.

"Some of my trainers, this is their sole income," Spodobalski said. "This is it. When clients don't come in, they don't get paid."

Orangetheory Fitness Reno is in a similar situation. Alexis Riggs closed down the gym, Monday night. She says weekdays are usually a busy time for staff and clients.

"It's kind of your stress relief," Riggs said. "It's what keeps you going. It was a difficult decision to close but we can't risk this pandemic."

Riggs expects the to keep the gym closed until at least March 31. She has roughly 40 employees who she intends to pay during that time.

"My husband and I, who own the business, have decided to pay our employees during this down time because it's not fair to them, even though we'll freeze all of our members' memberships, so no one's getting paid," Riggs said.

Duncan Mitchell owns three businesses in Reno. He is closing his bar, Chapel Tavern, and he already shut the doors of his newest restaurant, Von Bismarck.

"Von Bismarck, our whole concept is communal tables and family platters, sharing and that kind of thing, so it's exact opposite of social distancing," Mitchell said. "So we made the decision even before the announcement was made to go ahead and close Von Bismarck."

Mitchell made the decision to close Chapel Tavern after talking to his employees, Tuesday. He also owns Shawarmageddon, which will stay open for curbside orders, only.

Mitchell says people are already staying away from some businesses to avoid spread of coronavirus. He says Chapel Tavern is down about 30 percent, Shawarmageddon is down about 15-20 percent, and Von Bismarck is about 50 percent. He says this is a difficult time for the hospitality industry. Especially, restaurants that already operate on a small margin.

"You rely on people to keep coming in the doors to pay the bills, pay the employees and keep moving forward and when that stops, all of a sudden, you definitely have to figure out what you're going to do next," Mitchell said.

Prude & Boujee is a midtown business that specializes in Korean skincare products. It is staying open but taking measures to keep foot traffic. Employees say it is a scary time for small businesses.

"When people aren't here to pay us, we still have the rent to pay, we still have all the bills, all the expenses still add up," Gage Rees, Sheet Mask Expert for Prude & Boujee said. "So it starts to get costly."

The company will offer its products online, and allow people to pick up their items at the door.

"There's not really too much human interaction and I think as small businesses," Rees said. "We have to do our part and keep stuff super sanitary because the show much go on. You still have to make money during these times."

These small business owners hope this crisis passes quickly so they can get back to normal and reduce the final blow of the closures. 

"You work your butt off for years to build something, and you pour all your heart and soul into it, and you built it, and people love it and you feel really comfortable, and in a matter of hours, overnight, everything can change," Spodobalski said.

Those affected say the scary part is not knowing how long the closure might last and if they can sustain a long delay, financially. They are doing their best to stay positive though. They understand that social responsibility is up to everyone.

"It's disheartening but it's the right thing to do," Riggs said.

"I just think we need to look at the person next to us and be like 'It's going to be alright. We're going to get through this,'" Spodobalski said.

 

 

 

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