Restrictions end; business resumes
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Businesses throughout the Mon Valley got one step closer to normal Monday.
Nearly four weeks ago, Gov. Tom Wolf passed down a new set of temporary restrictions that left many business owners and their employees out of work just before the holidays.
The restrictions expired Monday, allowing school sports and other extracurricular activities to resume, while gyms, theaters, casinos and dining rooms at restaurants and bars were permitted to reopen.
Staff at closed restaurants, bars and gyms are excited to be back to work, and residents are just as happy to see them.
Angel Gulick, director of operations at the Mon Valley YMCA, said the fitness center decided to take an extra day before opening.
“It’s just awesome,” Gulick said. “We kind of expected that more restrictions would be coming, so it didn’t come as a surprise to us, but it didn’t make it any less upsetting.
‘To have this entire industry of gym owners, fitness instructors, personal trainers, lifeguards and our desk staff lose their livelihoods was terrible. The last thing we wanted to do was look our staff in the eye and tell them they would have to be laid off again.”
Gulick was concerned that if the restrictions were not lifted, some people might begin to cancel their memberships.
“The longer we were not able to offer our services, the more we worried that because people have not been able to use their membership, they would decide to cancel,” she said. “So we are excited to welcome back all of our members and our staff.”
While the Mon Valley YMCA decided not to open Monday, Gulick said she received dozens of calls from excited members.
“Coming off of a holiday and the weekend, we decided to give it an extra day,” she said. “But people have been calling all day, excited to hear we are opening.”
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