'People In Beaver Support Small Businesses': Beaver Co. Businesses Eager To Reopen In The 'Green' Phase Tomorrow
BEAVER, Pa. (KDKA) - Last but not least, tomorrow Beaver County will be the final southwestern Pennsylvanian county to enter Governor Wolf's "green" phase.
That means sit-down restaurants, salons and gyms will at last be allowed to reopen.
Third Street in Beaver is lined with independently-owned, mom-and-pop businesses which have survived the pandemic through some government help but mostly the support of loyal customers.
"People in Beaver support small businesses in Beaver," says Mario Fratangeli.
Mario's WoodFired Pizzeria has held on these past three month on takeout orders and patrons lunching outside. Tomorrow they'll be able to actually dine inside — and Mario Fratangeli expects the room to fill the limit of 50 percent capacity.
"If everybody comes out in a positive note and people come out and support, I think we will pick up," says Fratangeli.
At Kelly's Cuts, long-time clients keep on ringing and Rob Pisano's appointment book is already filled for hair styling and pedicures into August. Clients will be assured of their safety when they finally get in the doors.
"I put curtains in between our shampoo bowls. All our stations are well-apart. We're not going to use all three of our pedicure chairs," Pisano says.
"We have hand sanitizer right there. All of our girls have Clorox on their stations, each station has a hand sanitizer. We're going to follow all the rules, just to make sure we're going to be safe. That's the main thing we all need: to be safe."
Pisano believes the loyalty and trust of his clients has assured his business will survive for the long-term.
"There no doubt in my mind this phones ring again. Provided this pandemic doesn't come blowing back at us one more time, I think we'll be fine," he says.
Beaver County has some big challenges. It has the second highest unemployment rate in the region at 18 percent, which means 15,000 residents are out of work.
