When the pandemic hit last year, many businesses and restaurants found themselves challenged to find new ways to keep their doors open.
Roni Reino Watkins, owner of My Country Story in Dover, was one of the business owners who had to rethink how to connect with customers, when the store wasn't set up for heavy e-commerce.
Watkins offered curbside pickup and partnered with a nearby business to help deliver products until she could get her e-commerce presence built up and transition to a new website. Now, e-commerce is an integral part of her business.
"It wasn't something I thought I'd find myself doing anytime soon, it just wasn't on our immediate to do list," Watkins said. "But the pandemic made us take that step. It was a point where you have to ask what can we do to compete with the bigger box stores who already have this platform. Amid everything, people still wanted to shop local and shop small."