Wicked Local
Most of the state s COVID-19 restrictions are set to be lifted this weekend, a large relief for many after 14 months of living with the pandemic. Local businesses are gearing up for a big shift in how they ve been operating and are staffing up to meet an expected rise in customer traffic.
Mae s sandwich shop on Ocean Street opened in October 2019, but because of the pandemic, the first Marshfield summer in their beach-adjacent business as anything but what they expected, so owners Eileen Price and Sam Kauff said they re excited to see what this season brings. The fact that it s coinciding with the start of summer is a little stressful for us because we didn t have a real summer last year, Price said. We re adjusting to more people coming out because they feel more comfortable with vaccines or people opening up again, and also the nice weather. We re trying to manage a new level of busy that we haven t had before.
Masks must be worn on public transport, in healthcare settings, in schools and in nursing homes
Children 12 and older can be vaccinated
MARSHFIELD At Peppermint Twist Candy Shoppe in Marshfield, business has been steady since the holidays last year despite pandemic restrictions on small businesses.
Owner Marie Malmin said not a lot will change for her when most of the state s COVID-19 restrictions are lifted May 29. Her shop was already set up in a social-distancing-friendly way, and locals have come out to support her, she said, but she s looking forward to it nonetheless. The one thing we ll be looking forward to is being able to socialize more, she said. And kids, they get very excited and that s been a little bit of a bummer, not being able to see their faces, and it can be hard to understand them when they re trying to talk through a mask.