WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Contra Costa County’s loosened shelter in place restrictions went into effect at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Just a few hours later, some Walnut Creek shops opened for business for the first time in two months.
The reopening is part of the county entering the first part of Phase 2 of the state’s recovery plan. Businesses can now offer curbside pickup and manufacturers that supply these retailers can also reopen.
Zebra Tattoo and Body Piercing welcomed customers to take advantage of the curbside service. They can’t do tattoos or piercings, but can sell jewelry, gift cards, aftercare solutions and the like for now.
“We’re just having limited staff obviously, but slowly we’re going to bring more employees back on and hopefully open our Berkeley location,” said general manager Sean Delfani.
However, strict guidelines are still in place.
Businesses have to put social distancing marks on the ground while customers wait outside, customers can’t shop inside and displays can’t be set up outside with items for sale.
Walnut Creek’s Five Little Monkeys toy store opened with a detailed plan to get items to customers.
“They’ll call us when they arrive at our store, we’ll stick their order in the bin while they’re six feet apart and close the door and they can gather their purchases,” said owner Stephanie Sala.
With the new rules, the county is also now allowing large outdoor gatherings where people stay in their cars, so graduation celebrations and religious services can still happen.
Rules for car events include limiting them to less than three hours, designating a host to organize and make sure health guidelines are being followed, no motorcycles are allowed and neither is the sale of food.
Contra Costa County health officials said coronavirus cases are stable and hospitalizations are down which gives businesses more freedom now.
Five Little Monkey is taking on the new challenge, “Just trying to rethink everything and do things smarter,” said Sala.
However, Zebra’s bread and butter comes from piercings and tattoos so they’re looking forward to what’s to come, “We’re excited for this first phase, but we’re patiently waiting for the next phase,” said Delfani.
Sara Zendehnam is a reporter for KTVU. Email Sara at sara.zendehnam@foxtv.com and follow her on Twitter@szendehnam