Has it occurred to anyone else that while the 4 above are remaining open and hiring like mad that it’s going to put every Mom & Pop store out of business? The little guy that was hanging on by a thread before this apocalypse can’t do what those big guys can do.
I’d be interested in hearing other thoughts…unless you are knitting or crocheting and then of course I don’t want to bother you :}
Yes, but there’s not much that can be done at the moment. At least the businesses that are still open are hiring. It is just a rough time in this world. Here are a couple of ideas to support local businesses:
It’s not just the Mom and Pop places, Amazon and other on-line shopping sites are taking out chain retail stores as well.
That’s true but that’s been happening for a while, before this shut down. It’s a good observation though.
It’s hard to imagine the damage this is doing, I wonder how many restaurants can survive this.
There will be help for small businesses to some extent through the stimulus won’t there? I know a lot of cities are planning help. Tulsa definitely is.
A lot of people I know are already organizing movements to just slam all the locally owned businesses as soon as they are able. One of the few good side affects of this mess.
We have been trying to order in as much as we can in support of our local restaurants. Unfortunately, some have chosen to close up during this time. We just hope that they will be able to re-open.
No all small businesses are restaurants though. We can’t (shouldn’t) go out so who knows how they are being affected.
We have that Ring doorbell and last week got a message from a neighbor saying that if there was anyone who needed help, groceries, etc, he was available between 3-5 every day.
It reminds me of what this country must have been like (at least in my romantic mind!) when the settlers went out west. They helped each other get through the tough times asking nothing in return but to be a good neighbor when their need arose. I was so taken by this stranger reaching out to other strangers offering his help.
In spite of all the negative news we hear, sometimes a crisis brings out the best…
“…Normal citizens are just trying to figure out how to work with the new restrictions. In a legal way.
While bad guys aren’t worried about that at all.”
You are so right on this one!
We just got curbside pickup from our favorite restaurant and DH was very generous with the tip. I went to the LYS last week and I’m glad I did, our governor just said craft and furniture stores are non-essential and closed them.
YIKES!
Some have created an ARTIFICIAL dichotomy in requiring the President to choose between improving HEALTH or improving the ECONOMY.
With widespread access to hydroxychloroquine prescriptions, both HEALTH and the ECONOMY can be improved: Crisis over! 
@qfknit - Hoping and praying you are correct!
So far, the preliminary evidence seems to show that hydroxychloroquine+azithromycin (maybe + zinc) helps when taken early on. It’s mechanism of action is such that it cannot help if it’s given after some (unknown) point in the disease process. There is also some evidence that it can be useful for healthcare workers in preventing illness. None of this is really proven yet. That said, these drugs are old and well-known. You can’t give them to people with certain heart problems (can change the QT wave, interfering with heart rhythm), but many, many people can take them safely.
Fingers and toes crossed, prayers on going!
@EllenDeKnitter - yes, I also read that hydroxychloroquine is most effective if taken early… so I find it odd that it may be withheld until a patient is hospitalized.
This delay or withholding of the potential cure reminds me of “Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy” in which a caregiver secretly causes harm or exacerbates a condition… possibly to be later seen as a hero for having cared so much and/or having been so distraught over the dire situation.
If you venture out please do so safely. Thinking not only of yourself but of everyone around you. And know the rules. Might help to print out the mandate you are currently under. Read it and take a copy with you when you are out.
~See if someone who is on an essentials run can stop by for something from the mom and pop shop for you.
~Check on your favorite mom and pop shop. They may be sitting inside with most of the store lights off and the front door unlocked. It is possible they are busy in the back room and could not stop a curious customer who just happens to notice the door is unlocked and opens it to check on the store owner. (small restaurants, farmers markers and fruit stands are open, LYN shops may have limited service available.)
~check to see if they can do a curb side delivery. pay online or Hand them cash, let them keep the change.
~see if they can fill an order then mail it to you or deliver it to you. Offer to pay for either the mailing fee or the time/gas they used to get it to you. Pay online or in cash…let them keep the change. (Sac has a small local book store that is filling orders this way. They both mail and deliver the book orders to the door step of the customer. And they are selling lots of books.)
Here in California, We are not under martial law yet…nor do we wish to be. So play safe and play smart. There are ways to support some local shops while under the stay at home mandate. Around here the rules are changing all the time. So we have to pay attention.
One example is that they had closed all stores where you could Legally buy things to protect your house and home. Then decided to release thousands of inmates across the state and to put into place special rules on the intake of new prisoners. (latest release info from the LA area was over 9,000…that doesn’t include other places) So a lawsuit was filed… then the president put certain types of home and personal protection stores on the essential list. Finding a balance where we can protect both the inmates and the general public during this time of emergency must be very difficult. (lots of local news articles on this subject if you want to check it out. I won’t list the many links here.)
Somethings just do not make sense. I can boldly go eat from a taco truck and shop at at a semi crowded big box store…but feel like I have to sneak into an empty store to buy take out yarn or take out Chinese food. Weird times for sure.
Please… Stay informed. 
Take care. (of yourselves and others.)
@hereami you make an excellent point. I live in a place where everyone has a stock pile of a particular kind of personal protective equipment (and I don’t mean masks) and no one would consider closing stores where more of this equipment can be purchased. So I didn’t put together that, as you pointed out, the places with the closures are the SAME places that are releasing prisoners.
I love your ideas for helping the mom-and-pops through all this.
Stay safe and be well!
@EllenDeKnitter
Sometimes things just do not make sense. (closing those PPE stores while releasing prisoners, restricting intake of new ones…and…having already declared almost the whole state a sanctuary state) Not only that. Lots of people,Even police officers, were having trouble buying ammo. Why? Simply because the last time they had legally purchased this type of PPE and legally registered it was too far back to be current in the brand new system the government put into place very recently. So…lots of people had to purchase new items. When you add those purchases to the first time gun owner applications you get a huge numbers that makes it look like some sort of wild west show out here.
It is not.
Normal citizens are just trying to figure out how to work with the new restrictions. In a legal way.
While bad guys aren’t worried about that at all.
If any one ever moves out here. Choose your area/county carefully. Different counties are run differently on all levels. Some county sheriffs will approve concealed carry applications…others won’t even consider it.
Even if you don’t care to use this sort of PPE. Still choose carefully. Some counties will let you use your fireplace any time you want to. Others have restrictions and neighbors will report you.
Good news. My local LYN is open on a limited basis. She is putting inventory online, delivering, doing curb side pick up, and soon some lessons will be online. Woo Hoo.