CARMEL — Monday marked the first day of phase two of the re-opening of Indiana. More businesses were allowed to reopen, except in Marion, Lake and Cass counties where COVID-19 is more widespread.
For 45 days, RaeLynn's Boutique in Carmel has been shut down. Those 45 days are the most lucrative for the seasonal business. As of Monday, the business is open again.
"It's the height of our season which was absolutely devastating for us," Danielle Quinlin, assistant manager of RaeLynn's, said.
The business reopened on Monday.
"We've had a great response," Quinlin said. "We've had customers calling making appointments, checking to see if we are open. The support's been really amazing."
Though schools were forced to close before most could celebrate prom, that hasn't stopped people from getting creative.
"In Carmel, they're putting on prom at the Palladium. I believe out of the 400 tickets they've had, last night I heard they had sold 300," Quinlin said. "They have said that they were going to open up more days if there's interest so fingers crossed for us. Other than that, we've seen a lot of students that are putting on their own proms, getting together in groups of three or four where they can."
Along with retails stores, including jewelry, apparel, furniture and liquor stores, shopping malls are also able to open at 50 percent capacity. Manufacturing companies, industrial operations, public libraries and half of the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles are also able to open.
Safety is still top of mind.
"We are making PPE available for all of our customers. We do have disposable masks for them if they choose to wear them," Quinlin said. "We also have masks for staff. We are doing our best to maintain that 6-foot distance. We are encouraging our guests if they're able to bring somebody to zip them up that way we can do our best to maintain a distance and of course increasing our cleaning and sanitation procedure is making sure that everything is as clean as possible."
