Story & Photos by Jessica Perez | Design by Itzel Montoya | Edited by Jayce Kadoun

Businesses in Ellensburg Reopen Amidst the Pandemic

Downtown was empty; empty streets lit by snowflake shaped lights that should have been removed shortly after Christmas. Some businesses were completely shut down, while others had large signs plastered on their windows that read “curbside pickup” or “taking delivery orders.” That is what Downtown Ellensburg looked like a few months ago.

Today, people are clinking glasses on the patio at BRIX, walking in for their tattoo appointments at The Roost and taking advantage of Hayday Bakery and Brewery’s quiet atmosphere to study or work while they sip some beer. Now that Kittitas County has entered Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan, things are starting to look almost normal.

Where We Are Now (Phase 3)

Kittitas County entered Phase 3 on June 23. This phase allows for restaurants to be at 75 percent capacity, bars at 25 percent, gyms at 50 percent, movie theaters at 50 percent and gatherings up to 50 people.

Even though the county has moved into the next phase, regulation-wise, not much has changed from Phase 2.

Phase 2 allowed retail stores, hair salons, real estate and restaurants, among other services to reopen at less capacity. However, many of the businesses in downtown Ellensburg didn’t reopen until June, even though Phase 2 was approved May 27. This was due to all the preparation that went into reopening during the pandemic.

The Roost Tattoo Studio did not open until on June 2 because they had to reschedule all the appointments they cancelled during the shutdown.

“Everyone’s getting moved around right now for appointments because we’ve missed a lot of them over these past few months,” Shop Manager Trevor Worcestor says.

The Roost is prioritizing all cancelled appointments during the first three months of their reopening. All the tattoo artists in the shop are booked until the end of August. After that, they will start filling their logs with new appointments.

Alenté Spa also opened on June 2. The spa had to change the way their customers check in for appointments in order to minimize contact with other clients.

To check in for appointments, customers receive a text message 15 minutes before their appointment. They must respond to let their technician know they’re outside. Once their stylist, nail technician or masseur is ready for them, they will text them to come inside. Partitions were also installed between each station and the spa’s staff numbers have changed.

“We had about 50 percent of our staff come back, so we have limited it in that way,” General Manager Leah Henson says.

A smaller staff has helped limit the number of clients that can go into the spa each day.

Other businesses stayed open throughout the worst parts of the pandemic by offering curbside pick-up or delivery services.

Hayday Bakery and Brewery offered pick-up food services. However, they reopened sit-in dining the day variance for Phase 2 was approved. To minimize contact between customers, they’ve added outdoor seating and pushed tables six feet apart.

“Well, you know, we are going to follow whatever the rules are,” Owner Waquar Sheikh says.

Sheikh is also asking that customers wear masks when they’re not eating and not mingle with other customers. Parties bigger than 10 are also not allowed. If customers do not follow these guidelines, they will be asked to leave.

CWU student Leslie Allen visited Ellensburg when it was in its first week of Phase 2 and says the only real difference was wearing a mask. Allen also says she has mixed feelings about businesses reopening.

“I believe the pandemic should still be taken seriously and precautions should still be taken,” Allen says. “But Kittitas hasn’t had as many COVID cases as larger counties. So, it’s a little bit exciting but scary.”

How We Got Here

Kittitas County was granted variance on May 27, 2020. This allowed the county to move into Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan faster than other counties. According to a press release issued by Kittitas County Public Health, even though there were still a number of COVID-19 cases in the county when it was approved, the state deemed the county’s response to the outbreak good enough to contain the spread.

The press release outlined Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman’s response to Kittitas County handling the COVID-19 outbreak at Twin City Foods.

“In his letter, Secretary Wiesman stated, ‘Based on your reports and our conversations, I find that your health department’s response to the outbreak was quick, well thought out, and well implemented. I appreciate all the work you, your team, management at Twin City Foods, and your community are doing to contain this outbreak. I have confidence in your approach to containing this outbreak.’”

Since then, businesses in town have focused on reopening. The Ellensburg Downtown Association (EDA) has tried to help businesses through the reopening process.

“They have to come up with a safety plan, they have to have all this PPE, it’s definitely a lot,” Public Relations Coordinator at the EDA Taylor Villwock says. “It’s stressful for a business that hasn’t been open for so long, to now have all these guidelines to be able to open up.”

According to Villwock, most of the businesses downtown were eligible to open in Phase 2. “They all can open up in some capacity,” Villwock says. “It’s really up to them, with what they’re comfortable with, what they can afford to do right now.”

On June 23, Kittitas County was granted variance to move to Phase 3 of the reopening plan.

While people are allowed to gather again, Public Health still recommends people continue to socially distance and wear face masks.

On July 3, Gov. Inslee set a state-wide mask requirement in place. This requires everyone in Washington State, no matter what phase their county is in, to wear a mask in public indoor spaces.

During a press conference, Inslee said it was necessary as things reopen and people begin to go out more.

“It is imperative that we adopt further measures to protect all of us,” Inslee says. “Until a vaccine or cure is developed, this is going to be one of our best defenses.”

Where We Go From Here (Phase 4)

On June 27, Gov. Inslee announced a pause on counties moving into Phase 4 of reopening. That means no county will be eligible to move on to the last phase until there is further notice from the governor’s office.

During a press conference in June, Inslee said Phase 4 has virtually no requirements and the state is not ready for that yet.

“Phase 4 would mean a return to normal activity and we can’t do that now due to the continued rise in cases across the state,” Inslee says.

In addition to this, Inslee put out an order on July 7 requiring businesses to refuse service to anyone who refuses to wear a mask. If the person cannot wear a mask due to a disability or due to another approved exception, they can be offered an alternative form of service - like curbside service.

There’s also been talk of possibly closing down larger counties - like King or Pierce - with a large number of COVID-19 cases or requiring them to go back to Phase 1.

Kittitas County has seen a rise in cases since moving into Phase 3. According to a Public Health press release published on July 1, the increase is not related to a specific outbreak. The release also said the increase in cases was expected to happen in Phase 3.

“In Phase 3, we can and will continue to see people getting together with other people. We are not surprised by COVID-activity increasing. This is not a scare tactic, only public notification of increased COVID-activity.”

A press release issued by Public Health on July 20, said social gatherings would now be limited to 10 people instead of 50 due to the increase in cases.

As of July 22, five COVID-19 related deaths were reported in Kittitas County at the long-term care facility known as Prestige Post-Acute and Rehab Center.

Since cases have continued to increase, Gov. Inslee announced new rollbacks across the state for gyms, restaurants, and entertainment centers. The rollbacks will require some businesses to reduce their service capacity to 20 percent. The rollback also requires game areas to close. These new regulations will start on July 30.

With regulations changing so frequently, people feel the future of businesses is uncertain.

“Everything at this point is going to be a trial run you know,” Villwock said. “You never know how it’s going to go, you don’t know how many people are going to come downtown as soon as it opens back up. It’s kind of scary having to be the first businesses to open up.”