Reopening underway at many local businesses

Las Cruces – like the rest of the state – is seeing businesses reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety precautions are in place, and social distancing is the new normal. Bulletin staff reached out to some businesses to get a sense of how the reopening is working so far.

Planet Fitness (PF) Both Las Cruces gym locations, 1300 El Paseo Road and 1100 N. Telshor Blvd., will re-open Monday morning, June 8. Hours will be 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Both gyms will be at 50 percent occupancy, social distancing will be enforced, face coverings will be worn by staff and will be highly recommended for members.

"At Planet Fitness, the safety of our team and members is our top priority, as we begin to execute a thoughtful and phased reopening approach,” said PF Senior Public Relations Manager Becky Zirlen. “In doing so, we are taking a number of steps to protect the health and well-being of our team members and members, which include enhanced cleanliness and sanitization policies and procedures, physical distancing measures, reducing physical touch points in the club, and more.” Call 575-522-7867.

Austin’s Fine Jewelry, 230 E. Idaho Ave., will reopen Tuesday, June 9. Customers will be required to wear face coverings, but will be asked to briefly remove their masks when they enter the store – “so we can see who you are” (it is a jewelry store, after all), owner Keith Austin said in the store’s recorded phone message. Call 575-525-3340.

Armando’s Hair Salon, 1615 S. Don Roser Dr. has reopened, and is practicing social distancing, enhanced sanitation and masking. “The best thing about reopening our business is our clients,” said Marco Maese, a stylist and licensed massage therapist, whose father, Armando, owns the business. “Our clients are the backbone of our business, and it’s a beautiful feeling when we can reconnect with them and know they are doing well in these difficult times. Being closed for almost three months has been a real challenge. In addition to unpaid bills, we need to purchase additional items that can be difficult to find such as sanitizers, masks, gloves and other sanitary supplies. Though in any case, sanitizing must be done to ensure the safety of our clients and ourselves. We want to make our clients feel safe, welcome, and comfortable coming back to our establishment. Full recovery for our business is a process and will take some time, however we are learning a valuable lesson that is an eye opener. Challenges faced due to COVID-19 are unique and have shown us how vulnerable we really are, though through these difficult times if we all do our part and follow regulations set to ensure our health, the road to recovery should be trouble free.”

Rosie’s Café, 300 N. Main St., is open at limited capacity, as per state health directives, with two patio dining tables. Owner Rosie Hendrix said the café stayed open for pick-up service, but easing back into a daily routine is good for everyone. “The best part about reopening is being able to see all my regular customers again,” she said. “You tend to miss them when you’re used to seeing them every day. It is hard, though, wondering if I'm going to make, it even after we are open to eat in. I just hope this all gets back to normal.”

Salud! de Mesilla restaurant, 1800 Avenida de Mesilla, is open for dine-in service, as well as carryout and curbside service. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays. The restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Reservations are recommended for dine-in service, which also has disposable paper menus available, as well as disposable (but still silver!) plasticware, napkins, dishes and glassware. You will even get a prophylactic for the finger you use to sign the credit card bill. Call 575-323-3548. Visit www.saludmesilla.com.

Dona Ana Arts Council Executive Director Greg Smith said the office, located at 1740 Calle de Mercado, is open for visitors. “We are definitely open and looking forward to progressing,” he said. “Basically, we have been holding to the 25 percent of personnel guideline. So that’s one person is there from nine to five. If people want to come in, we can have four people [visitors] at a time. They just need to wear a mask and keep the social distance. We do have a new show up [at the gallery] and are working on summer art camps,” Smith said. “People are signing up for summer art camps, where we will be providing virtual and independent activities. We are looking at ways to do more even as we are looking

C&G’s, 1302 Florida Dr., is a welding and fabrication shop that also offers truck equipment and vehicle accessories. Chelsea Keever, who owns the business with her brother Gary Melton, said the pandemic has been interesting. “We are open back up to the public and following all the guidelines -- cleaning, masks, distancing,” she said. “Traffic is still down, most of what we are doing is our previous contract work. We have a hard drop in walk-ins.”

For the truck accessory business, people had started to simply order what they needed online, and she said she doesn’t know how much of that business will come back into the store.

“We are just starting to schedule out our past projects,” she said. “I am an eternal optimist and looking forward to return to pre COVID-19 traffic.”

Contact: 575-520-4398 or cglascruces@gmail.com.