Gyms, bars and wineries started reopening Friday in Fresno County. Here’s how it went
Another stage of businesses – gyms, bars and wineries – started opening Friday in Fresno County as the state moves into stage 3 of reopening its economy.
Like other businesses, they all must open with modifications like limiting capacity, social distancing, employees wearing masks and stepped-up cleaning.
The openings come as the number of positive cases of coronavirus continues to surge across the the six-county region, growing at an average of 178 new cases each day.
Despite that, many business owners are eager to get back to work after nearly three months of being shut down and struggling to pay bills. Employees and customers alike were looking forward to a sense of normalcy that comes with getting back to their everyday lives.
Gyms
At GB3’s north Fresno location, dozens of people were working out Friday morning, including Fresno’s mayor elect Jerry Dyer.
While much of the equipment sat empty and the gym’s classrooms were cleared (classes are expected to resume in a few weeks), there had been a steady flow of members coming in since 4 a.m. when the gym opened.
The crowd was larger than a typical Friday prior to the pandemic and more than the gym chain had been expecting.
“Way more,” said Sean Clinton, the gym’s general manager. “Holy smokes.”
Guests, all with masks on, answered a few questions at check in, before heading into the gym floor. A hand sanitizing station was set up at the front door and several others were visible around the room. Paper towels and bottles filled with yellow disinfectant were also set up at the stations.
Guests were being asked to clean down the machines before and after use, but most were complying anyway, Clinton said.
“We didn’t prompt that,” he said. The members know its important.
“They want the gym to stay open.”
Among the members back in on Friday was Clayton Peterson, who had been a six-day-a-week regular at the gym prior to its closure in March. He works in law enforcement and used the gym at work while GB3 was closed. But mostly, he road his mountain bike and ran when he could.
He missed the club.
“This was a must for my day,” he said, a place where he goes to clear his mind.
He’ll take all of the extra precautions — the masks and disinfecting and social distance — happily, if it means places like this can be back open.
“It’s nice to be able to get back a part of normalcy,” he said.
Bars
Bars could reopen Friday as long as they submitted a form to the county health department detailing their safety measures and agreed to follow state guidelines. Similar to restaurants, bars must space out tables and groups so they are six feet apart, employees must wear masks and increase their cleaning.
Customers must also wear masks, according to city of Fresno rules, but can remove them for eating or drinking. Outside the city, Fresno County says customers “should” wear masks while inside businesses, though the Sheriff’s Department is not enforcing that.
Although some bar owners were eager to get back to work, some planned to wait a few days, citing confusion from various agencies governing them and the need to order supplies.
Each bar is handling reopening differently.
Spokeasy Public House, for example, a small craft beer bar in the Tower District, planned to open starting Tuesday with reservations required.
Others bars, like Modernist and Lucy’s Lounge, have been open for days because they added food, essentially functioning as restaurants.
The 5th bar in Old Town Clovis opened at noon with customers waiting outside.
The bar, formerly Henry’s Cantina, looked a little different than normal, with some bar stools removed and tables spaced out. A taped-off area directed customers where to order at the bar.
Another big difference? No dartboards. No DJ. No dancing. No live music.
All are moves to prevent people congregating and spreading coronavirus.
“The hardest part is getting the regular customers and clientele to understand that these are rules and regulations we have to follow,” he said owner Larry Haney.
But he’s happy to be back after being closed for three months.
The business missed some major money-making drinking holidays, like Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, its third anniversary. Financially, it was “huge hit,” he said.
“We’re all looking forward to getting back and making some money, paying some bills,” he said. “We’ve got about 20 people in here right now. It’s a good sign, it feels nice.”
Wineries
Wineries could also start opening Fridays in Fresno and Madera counties, with most wineries on the Madera Wine Trail opening.
Moravia Wines in Fresno opened for wine tasting Friday for the first time in three months.
The winery southwest of town is encouraging reservations, though it will take walk-ins.
The tasting experience will be different, with everything moving outside, said owner Wendi Hammond.
“People will be seated at tables for tastings, rather than bellying up at the bar in our cute little tasting room,” she said.
Masked workers will run wine out to them. Since sitting at a table is a different experience than tasting at a bar, they’ve added food like antipasto from Sam’s Deli.
Tables are spread out on their patio and in shaded areas across the property.
The winery is resuming live outdoor music on Friday nights, though children cannot play on the playground. It will also be open for tasting from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
“It’s a lot of changes, some of them we’ll like,” Hammond said. “We didn’t like being closed for three months. We didn’t like it, but we understood.”
Next up
Next to open will be nail salons and businesses offering cosmetology services like facials, skin care, electrolysis and waxing, as well as tattoo and body-piercing parlors.
The state of California announced it would let those businesses open June 19 with safeguards. But Fresno County has delayed that an extra week, giving them the green light to open June 26.
Family entertainment centers and movie theaters will also be allowed to open that day.
Dog parks in Fresno will begin reopening next week too.
