OHIO CITY, Ohio — Starting this weekend, Ohioans have started shopping again with some adjustments, like making an appointment to shop or picking up items at the curb.
But businesses like restaurants and hair salons are still waiting to find out when they can welcome customers back.
On a sunny and warm Saturday when we’d all rather be doing anything else, Rachelle Yarnell is wiping down her salon’s air ducts, washing away dust that’s built up since the last time the salon was open a month-and-a-half ago.
That was also the last time Yarnell said she’s had a paycheck.
“So do you want to talk numbers or do you want to talk feelings,” Yarnell asked, responding to a question about closing her business down.
News 5 first spoke with Yarnell on March 18, a few hours after she found out that hair salons across Ohio would have to shut down that night. She and her employees stayed open until about 11 p.m. trying to fit in as many customers as possible.
That night, Yarnell started to help her employees apply for unemployment. Nearly all of her employees have successfully received unemployment benefits.
On Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gave Yarnell and other salon owners a little more hope for Monday.
“Next week, we should be able to tell people in the hair business when they will be able to be open,” DeWine said in his press conference.
Even before Yarnell knows what Ohio will require to reopen, she’s well on her way to being ready.
“In the last two weeks, I’ve spent $1,200 on items to prepare us to open and I don’t even know if they’re the right items,” Yarnell said.
The cost comes from thermometers to take customers’ temperatures, masks for her employees, and cloth masks that can be washed for guests if they don’t bring their own.
Yarnell said the salon will open up on May 12 strictly as a retail location selling hair products. Hair styling won’t happen again until Ohio allows those businesses to open up as well.
When that happens, Yarnell said every other chair in her Ohio City salon will stay empty in the name of social distancing.
“I mean, right now, everyone needs a hairdresser,” Yarnell said.
Even if everyone is a little overdue for a trim, cosmetologist Holly Bowen said maybe we need something more than just a fresh cut.
“We’re not just longing to get our hair done,” Bowen said. “We’re longing to have that person feel good about ourselves, our whole selves.”
