Businesses have not yet hit the pandemic recovery stage

MT. PLEASANT - Surviving 10 months of a pandemic has fundamentally changed the way businesses operate, including those in Mt. Pleasant.

Kristi Perry, executive vice president of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance, said going into the pandemic, businesses were operating with the mindset of 'weathering the storm for a month,” which has now turned into a 10-month storm.

'There's no doubt that it's been challenging. People sometimes are saying to me, ‘Businesses are doing better than we'd dreamed it would be.'” she said.

'They're actually just doing OK considering what they've been through. Some are having their worst year, some are having a rough time, some are doing OK. I appreciate their resiliency,” Perry added.

The executive vice president noted businesses are still in the thick of the economic downturn.

'We have, by no means, hit the recovery stage. We're still in the middle of it,” she said.

Because of the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, Perry said it was a little difficult to navigate and coordinate resources and assistance at the beginning.

'No one knew how to help or maneuver,” she said.

With nearly a year under their belt, Perry said manufacturers have learned to deal with supply chain disruptions, unemployment insurance and staffing issues that change constantly, sometimes on a weekly basis.

For small businesses, there has been a big pivot into developing online presence and working as lean as possible, sometimes employing the fewest number of employees possible.

But even in a tough year, Mt. Pleasant has continued to see growth. From new restaurants and businesses in the downtown area, to movement on several larger chain franchises moving into town,

Perry said it has been an unexpected year in a lot of ways.

'We researched a lot about what happens when towns go through a downturn, and it shows you do see businesses pop up … we're absolutely thrilled with the growth we're seeing - we really did not expect to see that,” she said.

Moving into the holiday season, Perry said residents should continue to support businesses by checking in on what's available locally before going to sites like Amazon.

'We would never tell people not to shop online, but what we do want them to do is look for the online presence of local businesses first. Or maybe for meals, have a local restaurant provide the appetizers or baked items,” she said.

'Shoppers need to be innovative and go to not just what is easy but go to what will help our community,” she added.