Boot Barn, JoAnn Fabrics and Check Into Cash are essential, along with car dealerships and exterminators. Meanwhile, Hobby Lobby is shutting down and MurMaid Mattress is struggling to sort out whether it can continue to do business if it moves exclusively to online ordering and pick-up.
“We’re in kind of a gray area,” said Roger Pickett, owner of MurMaid Mattress.
Mayor Andy Berke’s shelter-in-place order that closes all ‘non-essential’ businesses as well as many public spaces takes effect beginning at midnight Friday, April 3. The order lasts a week, but the mayor has discretion to extend it at that point. Meanwhile, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has issued an order that lasts until April 14 ordering Tennesseans to shelter in place unless they are engaged in ‘essential’ activities.
The city is working with businesses that have questions about whether they’re essential, said spokeswoman Richel Albright.
“If it’s unclear based on what is in the executive order, they can work with our office and we’re determining on a case-by-case basis if they’re essential or not,” she said.