MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With Memphis’ Back to Business plan beginning Monday, a lot of businesses are getting ready to open their doors.
The list of businesses that can reopen includes gyms, and Cathy Draper is happy to hear it. She runs Metabolic Crossfit in Midtown.
“I am so excited. We’ve been waiting a long time,” Draper said.
Now, she and other gym owners can burn calories again with certain restrictions. Those restrictions include operating at 25% capacity, limiting workouts to 45 minutes, having employees wear masks and requiring customers to clean equipment they use with disinfectant wipes.
“We’re going to arrange it in little squares where everybody has their square full of equipment to work in where they’ll lift weights. They’ll ride the bike,” Draper said, “They’ll have, goodness, just under 500 square feet of their own space to work in without touching anybody else.”
But some business owners aren’t ready to open, and they’re going to keep their doors closed, at least for a little while longer. Bryan Roberson owns Breakaway Running in Midtown. He says Monday is too soon to have customers in the shop again.
“We’re probably gonna take a little bit longer to roll this out,” Roberson said.
He’s not sure when he’ll open up, but when he does, he’ll be under the city’s retail guidelines, which require shops to operate at 50% capacity and have employees wear masks.
“Really limiting the foot traffic in the store,” Roberson said, “even down to maybe one on one. What we’ll probably do if we do more than that is take some of our benches out. So, if they [customers] are in here together, they’ll be spaced out.”
Thankfully, Roberson’s store has been able to keep things going with pickup orders, but gyms provide a service you have to do in the building, and Draper is eager to provide that service again.
“It’s a great feeling,” Draper said.
She says she won’t charge any gym member who doesn’t want to come back yet.
Click here for the list of all businesses that can open and what restrictions will be in place.