As local leaders divide on when and how to safely “reopen” Chattanooga and the surrounding area after weeks of business closures and other restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, residents and business owners fear the effects of inconsistent governance.
Ron and Marti Brown of Chattanooga have owned and operated Town and Country Barber Shop since the early 1990s, but fear their livelihood being threatened by nearby competition as the city maintains business closures while the state, county and many local municipalities are clearing businesses to reopen on May 1.
“Mayor [Andy] Berke is preventing our people in this city from going to work, which is what built this city,” Ron Brown told the Times Free Press on Wednesday. “I don’t know what the reason is behind the city acting so differently is, but we are at the end of how long we can stay closed.”
As threats of the virus grew in March, the Browns closed up shop days before Berke required all businesses like theirs to do so, in order to do cleaning and restructuring to promote social distancing and safety. Now, over four weeks later, they have gone a month without income themselves, and are worried about the long-term effects on their business.
“Our clients and employees are begging to come back. They know us well enough to know that we would not take the risk for ourselves, nor would we for them, and that our shop is safe. I don’t want anyone getting sick on my watch,” Marti Brown said, adding that she fears with the county and both Tennessee and Georgia set to reopen, Chattanooga businesses will lose to the competition. “I hope our business will make it out OK, if we’re allowed to reopen soon, but our employees that don’t have the experience and established clientele that we do might go somewhere else to work if their clients start going to Hixson or Georgia or wherever to get their haircuts.