{"id":88409,"date":"2020-05-17T21:03:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T21:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/silverton-merchants-face-another-tough-year\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:09:15","slug":"silverton-merchants-face-another-tough-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/silverton-merchants-face-another-tough-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Silverton merchants face another tough year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Silverton
Silverton business owners have faced several challenges in recent years, including the 416 Fire in 2018 and record snowfall in 2018-19, both of which cut off tourism dollars. Now they are trying to weather the coronavirus pandemic, which has again brought tourism to a near halt.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

SILVERTON \u2013 After fires in 2018 and near-record snowfall and avalanches in 2019, merchants in Silverton thought they had seen everything nature could throw at them.<\/p>\n

Few suspected one of nature\u2019s smallest villains, a microscopic pathogen, would claim the top spot as a business killer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our third year. We moved here in 2017, and took over for 2018, so we really don\u2019t know what normal looks like,\u201d said Jerry Chambers, who co-owns Silverton Hardware. \u201cOne thing we know is that we\u2019ve got to get this town open for us to do well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since May 1, San Juan County, Colorado, has been following Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 safer-at-home executive order that bans travel of more than 10 miles from home for recreation.<\/p>\n

DeAnne Gallegos, executive director of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce, said the only local advisory now in place from San Juan County Public Health advises people returning to the county from elsewhere to self-isolate for 14 days and avoid populated community areas.<\/p>\n

Polis\u2019 safer-at-home order may have given Coloradans on the Front Range a bit more breathing room.<\/p>\n

But in this remote mountain town at the end of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge line, the number of people now free to visit is only negligibly higher than when the county had its own restrictive locals-only policy in place that banned out-of-county residents from Silverton for all but essential visits for the month of April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish Gov. Polis would allow rural counties more flexibility and not lock down every place in the state like it\u2019s metro Denver,\u201d said Molly Barela, co-owner with her husband, Floyd, of Golden Block Brewery<\/a>. \u201cI think the quarantine was right at first, but now it\u2019s overkill. How many people are there in Silverton, 600 people, 700 people? Everybody knows who has the virus. Now, a quarantine is just overkill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rural
Rural communities with smaller populations like Silverton should be able to open sooner than populated areas, said Molly Barela, who co-owns the Golden Block Brewery with her husband, Floyd.<\/span>Patrick Armijo\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Barela said she tried to keep the Golden Block open for curbside pickup service the first week of the COVID-19 restrictions, but with Silverton\u2019s small population, she was losing more money being open than she would closing down.<\/p>\n

Five or six Silverton restaurants tried to remain open, but she said they all closed within a week facing the same grim business realities that shuttered the Golden Block\u2019s doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the governor issued his first order, in one fell swoop 90% of the workforce in Silverton lost their jobs. What are you going to do if you have no income? You\u2019re not going to be ordering out to eat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 restrictions came in the slow season for the brewpub, and initially Barela furloughed 13 employees. However, she received a Paycheck Protection Program loan and brought her workers back on the payroll.<\/p>\n

They helped paint the front of the brewpub, cleaned it, refinished the floors and did other odd jobs.<\/p>\n

However, Barela says she\u2019s worried she\u2019s going to be forced to re-furlough her workers in two weeks when her PPP funds expire if restaurants are not allowed to reopen at a sustainable level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to pay my employees if I could. I can\u2019t survive in my business without people available who can work for me,\u201d she said. \u201cI know my employees have to pay rent and utilities. I know they have to buy groceries and feed their kids. I know where those dollars are going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although spring isn\u2019t a big season for Silverton Hardware, Chambers said he\u2019s actually increased sales this spring as residents remain at home and shop more frequently with him. He\u2019s also begun stocking items like household cleaners, toilet paper, paper towels and sanitizers, items Silvertonians would normally make runs to Durango\u2019s Walmart or Home Depot to buy.<\/p>\n

\"Jerry
Jerry Chambers, with his wife, Dana, says he still hasn\u2019t seen a normal year in Silverton since operating Silverton Hardware beginning in 2018. In 2018, he faced the 416 Fire. Last year brought near-record snowfall and avalanches, and this year COVID-19 is squashing commerce.<\/span>Patrick Armijo\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to keep buying those kinds of items from us, but we are seeing more local customers, and I think we\u2019ll keep some of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gallegos said business openings in Silverton are limited, but the business community is working to set up procedures to comply with any state health requirements for reopening.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur business owners are wearing masks and have strict sanitation procedures in place to protect their employees and patrons,\u201d she said in an email. \u201cThe town of Silverton and the Chamber of Commerce have created a local ambassador program where we provide coaching and assistance in setting up businesses to succeed in the new (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) requirements for reopening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news that the D&SNG won\u2019t be running until at least June 8 means the prime summer season will likely be one where businesses in Silverton look to simply survive.<\/p>\n

Chambers said the train doesn\u2019t help him directly because he\u2019s too far from the Silverton Depot. Still, when the train is fueling businesses downtown, they\u2019re remodeling, making repairs, and that helps make summer his busiest season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe train\u2019s a trickle-down effect for us. If the businesses aren\u2019t doing well in town, they\u2019re not going to be doing business with us. We\u2019ll definitely feel it if the train isn\u2019t running,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He decided to go ahead with a planned 200-square-foot addition to the store devoted to camping and RV supplies, another important part of his summer business. The decision to go ahead with the addition came when he realized he needed a place to stock all the cleaning and toiletry items he now carries.<\/p>\n

Barela is hopeful the resumption of in-person dining will coincide with Polis opening up recreational visits and clearing a path for at least a sustainable level of commerce to resume in Silverton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ll survive, but it won\u2019t be a normal year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

parmijo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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