As businesses across the municipality prepare to open their doors to customers once again, officials with the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce are thrilled to see life starting get a little closer to normal.
Chamber President Gail Hundt says while it’s not quite business as usual, it’s a good first step.
“We have seen too many businesses for far too long holding back and waiting for this moment,” Hundt says. “Everyone is doing their due diligence as far as trying to follow the rules, and it’s paid off. We’re only a few days ahead of schedule, but every little bit helps.”
Hundt says the community support and focus on supporting local businesses has been the biggest saving grace of the past year.
“We have seen it time and time again, people (doing) curbside service and picking up meals and ordering out and online shopping with a local flavour. Now that they can step foot, to limited capacity, inside the storefronts, it’s very, very important.”
While life isn’t back to pre-COVID normal quite yet, with increased vaccination rates Hundt expects to see local businesses and the community as a whole taking more steps forward in the near future.
