ROANOKE, Va. – The change to Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order, forcing the closure of some businesses is hitting personal care businesses especially hard. Customers want to get their hair, nails and skin taken care of, and businesses want to do it. But that’s not possible right now, and businesses said the promised financial assistance isn’t coming through.
These businesses were originally supposed to be able to re-open April 23. Now, they can’t re-open until May 8. The order went into effect on March 23.
Arguably, the closure of hair salons is impacting people the most. Kristen Rocha owns Bliss Studio in Roanoke County, and said it’s a tough blow.
“There’s really no easy way, there’s pros and cons either way. I hope it’s the right time, I know we’re all eager to get back to work that’s for sure,” Rocha said.
Headquarters Barber Company in Roanoke is feeling the closure, too. Like many other owners, Melanie Cassell’s only source of income is her small business. And at this point, neither customer money, nor government money, is coming in.
“Apply for unemployment, applying for all the grants and loans and things that were specifically for small business owners and I haven’t received a dime. So it’s just been a waiting game," Cassell said.
Lisa Hensley owns an in-home nail salon. The Governor’s order allows her and hairstylists to perform their services in customers’ homes, but not work out of their own. She’s worked out of her home for many years.
“I just feel like it would be safer to work out of my home than to go to 40 homes in a week and you don’t know what you’re walking into, you don’t know who is sick, or who isn’t," Hensley said.
Penny Kerr owns Corporate Image Barbershop in downtown Roanoke. Although she has the option of going to people’s homes, she doesn’t want any contact at all and the other stylists agreed with her position. They’d rather wait until this lets up because they can’t keep six feet distance while doing their job, and even if they wanted to get PPE, it’s not available for purchase.
“I think we’re going to be slammed though, people are constantly texting and asking me you know am I going to do a hair cut and I stand firm on not doing it right now,” Kerr said.
The state has issued strict guidelines for personal care businesses to follow the rules. Violators could be fined or risk losing their license completely.