Sacramento retailers reopen for curbside pickup. But florist visited by Newsom gets biggest lift

The grand reopening of Sacramento’s retail industry got off to a slow start Friday.

Most stores and shopping centers remained closed in spite of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decree that they could offer curbside pickup as he begins relaxing his stay-at-home order. At Arden Fair mall, the first major mall in the region to reopen, only one retailer — Foot Locker — had made a sale by mid-afternoon.

“We didn’t have large expectations of what Day 1 of this would look like,” said Arden’s senior marketing manager Nathan Spradlin. “This is new.”

So new, in fact, that mall executives weren’t able to start spreading the word to their tenants until late Thursday. Spradlin said he hopes a quarter of the mall’s 165 tenants will open next week.

Arden’s cautious reopening came a day after the mall announced a devastating setback: Nordstrom Inc., one of the mall’s anchor tenants, is closing its store in the mall permanently, making mall executives even more eager to resume business. They said they expect business to improve despite the slow start.

On a day when the government reported that the coronavirus pandemic had driven national unemployment to 14.7 percent, there wasn’t a lot of business activity in Sacramento.

Most of the other big stores remained closed in the area around Arden Fair, one of the most important business districts in Sacramento. Of the few that were open, most had been doing curbside pickup all along.

The economy was slow to reopen elsewhere in the region. Westfield Galleria at Roseville remained shuttered, except for two of its restaurants, although the mall expects to have some retailers open Monday for curbside service.

There were encouraging signs, here and there, as stores reopened throughout the region. Twiggs Floral Design Gallery — where Newsom dropped by for his Friday afternoon press conference — experienced a surge in business.

“I’ve been taking orders like crazy,” said owner Wes Green. “We’ve sold out of a lot of items already.”

Newsom said he hopes Twiggs’ experience is a good sign for the economy.

“This is just an example of what we hope to be seeing replicated all throughout the state of California, as we move into what we refer to as the second phase of our meaningful modifications,” he said. “I’m honored to have been allowed into a small business here in the Sacramento region that is opening up today, and just in time.” Sunday is Mother’s Day, a busy time for florists.

‘I’ve been waiting so long for this’

A few stores decided they could let customers inside.

Among them was Mike’s Camera in midtown Sacramento, where two customers were lined up outside 10 minutes before the reopening.

Yolanda Cu of Sacramento, the first in line, said she needed a wide-angle camera lens.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” said Cu, who works at a funeral home.

Because camera equipment is considered essential for distance learning and video conferencing, store manager Joel Quiggen said he was allowing customers inside, escorted by an employee. “Masks are not optional,” he said.

Mixed Bag, a gift shop in midtown, greeted five customers in the first 15 minutes of business.

“I’m delighted with the turnout,” said shop owner Linda Novi. “We’re thrilled to see the response.” She said customers were banging on the door Thursday as she was preparing for the reopening.

Novi allowed customers inside, a handful at a time. She said the store sells soap and other items considered essential, so she didn’t have to limit service to curbside pickup. The front door had posters about social distancing, and customers were encouraged to wear masks; hand sanitizer was available as well.

This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 3:19 PM.