The pandemic pivot: Pelham businesses continue to adapt

The pandemic pivot: Pelham businesses continue to adapt

There’s no getting around it: the ups and downs of the response by the province to the COVID-19 pandemic have been tough on businesses.

The latest move came when Premier Doug Ford declared a provincial state of emergency and stay-at-home order on April 7, less than week after the province went into a shutdown over the Easter weekend. The order is expected to last 28 days.

For a trio of Pelham businesses owners, it means continuing to stickhandle their way through more uncertainty, not knowing when there will once again be a time when it is business as usual.

Angela Daley and Kelly Aston are the mother-and-daughter team who are the faces behind Marilee’s Bridal. The pair took over the longtime Fonthill business five years ago.

And now the pandemic, which has resulted with weddings being either scaled back or delayed outright, has forced the pair to get creative to meet the needs of brides looking for that perfect dress.

The smaller-scale weddings, Daley said, has meant some fancy footwork for the store.

“Brides are looking for simpler dresses. That meant us having to pivot to have those dresses in the store.”

The big issue now is how to replace the thrill of a bride and family picking out a dress in-store.

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