CENTERVILLE — Since the pandemic began, many businesses have struggled to stay afloat.
Restaurants and stores were forced to close for several weeks, and upon reopening, had to follow strict social distancing and cleaning procedures in order to remain open.
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During the downtime, April Desai decided to open her own store, Burgundy Chic Boutique in Uptown Centerville.
“It was not an easy decision at all,” Desai said. “We were worried about the economy, we were worried about COVID. I took the risk because I wanted to bring some hope to the community, to my family.”
Desai’s daughter, Alisha has been helping out too, doing the stores marketing.
“It’s been really hard, but we have our rules and regulations in place,” Alisha said.
Inside the store, there’s more than just Burgundy Chic.
The Desais invited three other small businesses, Unique Celebrations, Vintage Southern and Stranded to sell their products inside.
“I think it’s bringing a sense of normalcy for a lot of the community members,” Desai said. “It’s so hard to be in this type of situation especially in this world today.”
It hasn’t been easy, although their doors are open, like other businesses, they have strict rules to follow in order to stay open.
Only 15 people are allowed to shop at a time, everyone must wear a mask, clothes are steamed immediately after they are tried on and the Desai’s have had to invest in loads of cleaning products.
“We have to think about that every single day,” Desai said. “We have to keep on top of what Governor DeWine is saying.”
But since their opening day on July 17, the Desai’s said business has been booming.
“Business has been amazing.” Desai said. “We’ve had support from family, friends, neighbors and people we don’t even know.”
Cox Media Group
