About that recovery and so-called new normal

EDITORIAL

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that retailers up and down the state could reopen for curbside pickup did little to elicit cheers from the local small-business community.

Hard to blame them.

For starters, many big-box stores and national chains have already been offering the service throughout the shutdown, and they’re the same stores now poised to take advantage of this new way of doing business, thanks to well-funded and well-developed online and mobile shopping systems.

But what about the mom-and-pop trinket shop or the antique, hobby or fashion store? Florists did a brisk business during the Mother’s Day reopening, but do they have the capability to run a permanent curbside or online business model? Not many small retailers do. You certainly can’t get a haircut online.

It’s clear it could be several months if not longer before the small businesses from Calabasas to Oak Park get back to work as usual. Sadly, it’s too late for some. For those that do survive there’s going to be a lot of treading water until shoppers feel comfortable filling their stores, restaurants and salons again.

At the very least, the way we shop and recreate has changed forever.

With summer on its way, how long will officials be able to prevent sunbathers from congregating on the beach? You can play golf but you can’t touch the flag pole? You can dine at a restaurant (this is coming soon) but must wear a mask and not sit next to anybody?

Regarding small business, the federal government’s CARES Act and subsequent Paycheck Protection Program has given them a much-needed lifeline, but what about when those funds run dry? What then?

We feel it’s imperative for local city officials to start thinking outside the box about what role they can play in helping independently owned small businesses recover from this economic nightmare. Most residents can count on one hand the number of mom-and-pops that were thriving in the Conejo and Las Virgenes valleys before the lockdown. To lose even a handful of these businesses and see them replaced with chains—or worse, see their spaces left vacant for months—would be detrimental.

The cities of Calabasas, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village are to be commended for going to bat for local small businesses by promoting their services and hours of operation. The cities for years have provided grants to social service agencies, youth sports teams and nonprofits, but what about the same treatment for qualifying and locally-owned small shops?

Or what about offering tax relief?

We’ve heard nothing about the City of Calabasas rescinding its unique utility users fee paid for by struggling residents and businesses.

All this doom-and-gloom aside, it does feel good to see some of the stores and businesses starting to perk up. “It’s good to be back,” as one golf course manager told us in today’s Page 1 story. . . . And it’s good to have them back.