Businesses ready to climb with reopening

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 21, 2021

Things are looking up at Insight Climbing and Movement and other businesses on Bainbridge Island.

As far as they are concerned Gov. Jay Inslee’s recent announcement lifting restrictions due to COVID-19 is a step in the right direction.

The move to Phase 3 of the Recovery Plan Tuesday, and a planned complete reopening June 30 after 1½ years of financial troubles, means the businesses may actually survive the pandemic.

Most indoor activities will be permitted to operate at 50 percent capacity until June 30 when most public spaces will return to full capacity.

But despite the optimism, there is some apprehension, too. On the one hand, they are ecstatic about people being able to roam about freely. But on the other hand they still have concerns about the coronavirus and whether everyone will be safe.

Michele Lang, owner of Insight Climbing, said she is waiting for more guidance from the state, which said businesses retain the right to require masks.

“We want to have conversations with our customers and do the right thing for our staff” to make sure everyone stays healthy, she said.

Lang said the governor’s announcement was unexpected, as COVID numbers had not been looking good.

“Like a lot of people we were surprised,” she said.

Kathryn Petit of Petit and Olsen on Winslow Way said, “I think it is great news, as long as the infection/transmission numbers are where he expects them to be a few days before then.”

She said Bainbridge Island has done a great job throughout being safe.

“This is not the case in some neighboring communities, even though we all have the same county guidelines to follow,” Petit said. “I think Bainbridge has been a very safe place. Customers and the public have respected science and guidelines.”

Carolyn Goodwin, marketing manager for Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, said, “Yes, we’re thrilled at the prospect of opening BARN’s doors again, and I know our community is eager to get back to creating.”

Goodwin said now BARN volunteers can start some community service projects that have been on hold. The BARN Woodshop has agreed to build tiny houses for the Low Income Housing Institute, which operates eight tiny villages with 442 houses in the state.

“We’re currently recruiting volunteers for this project. In addition to supporting a good cause, participants will learn valuable construction skills from experienced team leaders,” she said.

In addition, in-person classes can return for things like building a kayak. Summer Youth classes can return for everything from Cooking and Robotics. And this fall it can offer a nine-month Certificate of Craft: Advanced Jewelry Apprentice program that prepares people for work in the jewelry industry.

“BARN has been planning all of these things for months ­— we’re thrilled that they’ll now be able to happen,” she said.

Denise Dumouchel, BARN’s executive director, added: “We know our community is eager to use all the saws and torches and kilns and looms that have sat idle for so long. We’ll continue to offer the online classes that we started during the pandemic — they have been very popular. But our instructors and students are ready to return to hands-on learning and making. That’s what BARN is all about.”

In his announcement, Insee immediately relaxed rules for wearing masks for all who are fully vaccinated against COVID. Additional activities will be allowed with fewer restrictions and increased capacity for groups of fully vaccinated people. Spectator events, such as indoor and outdoor sports, will no longer have limits on the number of vaccinated attendees. This guidance also applies to conferences, live performances, weddings and funeral receptions.

Full reopening can occur earlier than June 30 if 70 percent of residents age 16 and older become fully vaccinated. Washington has administered over six million doses of vaccine, and 56 percent of Washingtonians have initiated vaccination. However, if the statewide intensive care unit capacity reaches 90 percent at any point, activities will be rolled back again.

Lang said business already has been picking up lately as customers became vaccinated and felt comfortable coming out again. Members and repeat customers are returning, and they are even getting some drop-ins, with grandparents bringing kids in.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” but even summer camps are filling up, she added. “A lot of people are really ready” to get out and about.

One challenge remaining is staff. She had to lay off 22 people, and while some have been rehired others found other work where they were less at-risk. Finding workers to replace them has not been easy.

“2020 was pretty devastating,” she said, adding they were shut down for five months and lost 70 percent of their revenue. Local, state and federal aid helped keep the business going.