“But even after it quieted down a little bit, it has still been very consistently busy ever since,” McKanna said. “We’re still consistently ahead of last year’s sales for the summer.”
McKanna credits his new downtown location as one of the reasons for the increase in sales.
“I think the downtown location and the fact that people really feel good about supporting downtown because it’s really making some big strides,” McKanna said. “It’s really neat to see. Everybody is climbing on board.”
He also explained that many customers are wanting to frame their crafts that they have completed during the pandemic.
“That doesn’t take up a big percentage of our business, but it still boosts our business,” McKanna said.
Sue Call, owner of Sue’s Furniture on West High Street said, “The two months that I was closed it was horrible, but as soon as I came back it was unbelievably busy.”
Call said her sales are up compared to 2019. She attributed part of the increase to many of her customers buying furniture because they want to make changes to their house since they have been spending extra time at home during the pandemic.
A new business in downtown Springfield on West High Street, Cyclotherapy, has also been “pretty busy,” according to Co-Owner Jon Francis.
“Especially being a new business, we’ve been happy with what we’ve done, but our specific industry is at a 50 year high,” he said.
“We have been selling a ton of bikes. We’re actually getting people from out of the area, out of state, because their local bike shops are closed,” Francis added.
He said they bought their initial inventory at the “right time” because they had bikes when some of the “more established” bike shops were running out.
Not all downtown retail businesses have seen an increase in sales compared to last year.
Kelci Webster, manager of Champion City Guide & Supply on North Fountain Avenue said, “With all things considered, it has been fairly optimistic and positive. It’s definitely not what it was last year.”
At the Springfield-themed store, sales were down for May and June compared to last year, but Webster said they are better than what she anticipated.
“We definitely switched to a lot more online and I still currently have more online sales than I did a year ago,” Webster said.
During the first two weeks of the pandemic, Webster said her online sales were up 500 percent. Prior to the pandemic, she did not “push online sales.”
All four businesses told the News-Sun that they have seen an increase in local support and appreciate it.
“I’m glad that people are still supporting and coming downtown,” Webster said.
“A lot of the other local merchants have been really great and supportive,” Francis said. “The town has certainly supported us.”
“A lot of people are coming downtown. It’s amazing,” Call said.
Webster explained that she enjoys looking out the store’s window to see individuals walking around and visiting the other local businesses because a few months ago, at the start of the pandemic, she did not know what to expect.
Call added, “You just don’t know what will happen tomorrow, you try to take precautions against the virus and stuff and that’s all we can do I guess.”
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