“It’s wonderful to see Bluffton looking like Bluffton again. I am thrilled about all the hard work, I know our business community has done to make this possible,” says Paula Scott, CEO of the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce.
Whether it be the stores, the coffee shop, or even the Shannon Theater showing movies again there is a sense of normality returning to the village of Bluffton after the pandemic hit them and the rest of the United States hard.
“I am very hopeful to see the downtown traffic come back to normal,” says Peggy Brown, Manager, Ten Thousand Villages/Book ReViews. “I not only manage Ten Thousand Villages, but I manage the used bookstore down the street, that store has bounced back pretty well. People are out purchasing gives and things right now.”
The farmer’s market has been open for a little over a month. While they still offer a variety of items like maple syrup, fresh produce, and baked goods, things have been a little different for this tight-knit community.
“We’re open and trying to come up with some sense of normality again. We don’t have the big crowds like we use to have,” says Greg Probst, Farmer’s Market Manager and Owner of Probst Family Farm. “I always say this is a social event, and we don’t have the big crowds, where people use to spend 3 to 4 hours just talking to friends on a Saturday. It's pretty much people come in and shop and then go back out.”
As the economy starts to recover, safety is still the underlining message, and you can see that stressed throughout the community.
“Mask are good for business and if you see someone wearing a mask, it’s important to realize everyone’s risk tolerance and everyone’s vulnerability is not the same,” adds Scott. “So, I would like it when all of our local business emphasizes there is something that we can all do decrease the spread. We are doing great here, and we want to keep it that way.”
