A worker at Hult’s Family Market holds a sign promising a free roll of toilet paper with every purchase. Flights owner Alex Hult set up the market for customers to order takeout not just from his restaurant but from other Los Gatos eateries. (Photo by Debby Rice)
It is a tough time to be a business owner and meet the guidelines now in place. Businesses are getting creative to accommodate the situation.
There are some heroes emerging. At the top of the list is the US Post Office.
Having been to the Los Gatos Post office, their efforts are commendable. They continue to process, transport and deliver mail and packages, which is a vital public service. The post office has x’s to ensure patrons stand 6 feet apart in the waiting line. Mail and packages are handed to clerk wearing gloves and signatures are done electronically.
The USPS delivers medications and Social Security and income checks, and is the lead delivery service for online purchases. The USPS is an excellent example of compliance shelter-in-place orders and social distancing restrictions.
The CDC (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus), the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/news-room), as well as the Surgeon General have indicated that there is no evidence that COVID-19 is spread through the mail.
Flights owner Alex Hult has come up with a winning concept. As past president of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, he is a strong supporter of small business. Hult has opened Hult’s Family Market as an adjunct to Flights. Not only can you order Flights menu items for takeout, but Hult is also offering food from other restaurants. You can order Loma Beer, Centonove pizza, Nothing Bundt Cake and more to pick up curbside at Flights. www.flightsrestaurants.com
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce has posted a list of 27 restaurants that are open and offer curb side delivery. https://www.losgatoschamber.com
In an effort mitigate the financial impact the Covid-19 response is having on our small businesses, the Chamber’s board of directors is calling on property owners to reduce the monthly obligation of lease payments from their tenants. “While reduction in lease payments is greatly appreciated, we strongly urge you to consider waiving 100 percent of the lease payments for at least the month of April to give your tenants a fighting chance,” reads a statement from the Chamber.
Los Gatos-based Netflix announced emergency support for workers in the creative community. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos blogged, “Almost all television and film production has now ceased globally, leaving hundreds of thousands of crew and cast, many of whom are paid hourly without jobs. Netflix has created a $100 million fund to help with hardship in the creative community.
“Most of the fund will go toward support for the hardest-hit workers on our own productions around the world. We will be donating $1 million each to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Covid-19 Disaster Fund, the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the Actors Fund Emergency Assistance in the US, and $1 million between the AFC and Foundation des Artistes in Canada.
“What’s happening is unprecedented,” Sarandos continued. “We are only as strong as the people we work with, and Netflix is fortunate to be able to help those hardest-hit in our industry through this challenging time.”
Now RX is delivering prescriptions to your door. Utilizing high-tech robotics and AI-enabled distribution centers, low-cost prescriptions are delivered in hours and the delivery is free. They’ve stepped up standards and are wearing gloves, abiding by social distancing rules, eliminating signatures and using photos to ID recipients. How does it work? Call with your current prescription or text a picture of the prescription label to 844-466-6979 and they will take care of the rest. www.NowRX.com
Some service clubs have suspended meetings, while others like Los Gatos Rotary are holding meetings in a new way. Over 50 club members logged in for a meeting via Zoom, and Tina Orsi Hartigan is hosting a virtual Los Gatos Rotary Happy Hour on Zoom for all club members.
The annual Great Race has been renamed the Great Social Distancing Race. Chairman Mike Norcia announced that the race is going virtual. Just do a 4-mile run/walk before May 1 and register it on the Great Race website. There are even dog and stroller divisions. Invite friends and family who don’t live locally to join in this year’s virtual race. www.losgatosrotary.org
Upholsterer Bill Bagley at Krupp’s Upholstery usually has a four-month backlog of chairs, sofas and the like, but that backlog is dwindling. He is keeping his staff on board if possible but needs more projects to be able to sustain. “Give me a call,” Bagley says. “This is a great time to get caught up on those upholstery projects you’ve been putting off. And I will pick up and deliver, abiding by social distancing.” 408-374-0188.
The religious practices of hundreds of millions of people are undergoing profound changes in response to the coronavirus, yet spiritual guidance is sought by many. Churches are modifying how they deliver their message. Los Gatos Calvary Church has closed its campus but is holding online worship services at 10am Sundays. www.calvarylg.com/#watchlive
Grocery stores are helping the elderly and vulnerable (check their websites for updates) with specially dedicated shopping hours. Because of panic shopping, which has left many store shelves empty, at-risk groups including seniors have had difficulty getting supplies. Here is a partial list of grocery stores offer shopping time for vulnerable customers amid coronavirus:
Big Lots is reserving the first hour of each day for senior citizens and “those most vulnerable to this virus,” CEO Bruce Thorn said in an email to shoppers.
Costco Wholesale Club will hold a twice-weekly senior hour from 8 to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays for members 60 and older.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-9 a.m. Safeway is reserving time for “those vulnerable shoppers who must leave home to obtain their groceries, unless otherwise locally mandated.”
Target is “reserving the first hour of shopping each Wednesday for seniors.”
Trader Joe’s: the first hour of daily shopping will be reserved for senior customers, from 9 to 10 a.m.
Walgreens has designated Tuesdays as “Seniors Day,” when seniors, their caregivers and their immediate families can shop from 8 to 9 a.m. Seniors will also be eligible for discounts on Tuesdays, including 30 percent off regularly priced Walgreens-brand items and 20 percent off regularly priced national brands.
Walmart stores are hosting an hourlong senior shopping event every Tuesday for customers 60 and older, which will start one hour before stores open.
Until further notice, all Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. and Canada will let customers who are 60 and older shop one hour before opening to the public.
The pandemic has highlighted the precarious nature of gig work. Ride-share and cab drivers are independent contractors, so as their incomes dwindle, they lack employee benefits such as unemployment coverage, sick leave or employer-subsidized health insurance.
Drivers can operate during the shutdown to take people on essential trips such as grocery shopping and medical visits, but many drivers fear being in the confined space of a car with strangers who may be contagious.
“It’s dreadful out there,” says Carl Macmurdo, a longtime cabbie. “These are dire times for us.”
