Some local businesses in Kamloops are feeling relieved to be able to open up.

Sandie Smedley manages Josey’s Hair Salon on Tranquille Road, and says people are just as relieved to get their hair done.

“So I did my first client this morning, we both wore masks. There is huge demand, the phone rang 23 times or so from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and then I came to work this morning with 27 messages on my voicemail. So like I say there’s huge demand. And a few people walked in but, you have to make an appointment.”

Smedley says overhead costs have been a challenge in the past two months while being closed, and she says the provincial rent relief program has helped them through the spring.

So at first it was a panic, thinking what are we going to do. We thought we were lucky because we could sell retail… So it’s so good to be open; for our mentality, for our saneness. To be social with our clients again. They’re like family.”

Meanwhile, down the street, Red Beard Cafe has taken the two-month closure to do renovations that have been planned for six years.

Owner Mitch Forgie says he hopes to reopen on June 4.

“It’s been a unique opportunity to get a lot of things done that have been accumulated on the to-do list forever… But we’re certainly excited to welcome people back. You get into the hospitality industry because you thrive on people.”

But he says reopening will come will some financial uncertainty.

“Reopening not only has a huge upfront cost to get the doors back open again. All of a sudden you have operational costs that maybe you haven’t aniticipated, so it opens the door to losing a lot of money very quickly too. Going into phase two is kind of more scary than closing was. For me anyways,” he says.

“As soon as we open and you’re reintroducing payroll and you’re buying groceries that you need to sell in a few days because produce goes bad. With uncertainty on, are people going to be rushing in the door? Are people going to be scared to come back? What are people’s tickets going to look like, are they going to be spending a lot or a little bit?”

Forgie says despite being fully closed since St. Patrick’s Day, he has kept his employees on the payroll who have received the federal wage subsidy.