As the pandemic continues, local businesses face financial challenges
When the pandemic first hit, Carla Wroten, the owner of Steady Eddy’s Coffee House in Winters, CA, and her husband realized that there was an opportunity to sell items online. Thus, they started Yolo.Boutique, a virtual marketplace that features local products from Yolo County.
“My husband and I have owned the coffee shop named Steady Eddy’s Coffee House for seven years and business has been steady but when the pandemic hit, we realized we could boost our coffee sales and sell other local products as well online,” Wroten said via email.
The store is organized by Yolo County cities and features items from other vendors across the county. The items are reasonably priced and can be delivered within the local area, picked up at Steady Eddy’s or shipped, according to Wroten. All costs are taken care of by a handling fee of 10%.
The online store features a variety of shops and brands from Woodland, Davis and Winters, including FIT House, a Davis workout studio that offers a variety of classes and sells apparel through Yolo.Boutique. Co-owner of FIT House Blanche McNaughton explained via email how her business is involved with Yolo.Boutique.
“We don’t have an online option for customers to purchase any of our retail products so we tried Yolo.Boutique,” McNaughton said via email. “It’s super easy […] and allows for us to start selling online right away.”
McNaughton explained that the ongoing pandemic has taken an incredible toll on local businesses.
“Our community is a third of what it was last year, but they need us more now than ever,” McNaughton said via email. “As this pandemic drags on, FIT House is determined to continue doing whatever it takes to see this through so that someday we can reopen the doors to our beautiful indoor studio and welcome our community back inside […].”
Public Health Director for Yolo County Brian Vaughn explained how students can continue supporting local Yolo County businesses during the pandemic.
“Students can get takeout, not meet up with other students or friends, continue to wear a mask whenever they are outside their home and maintain social distance when out in the community,” Vaughn said. “The more they play their part to reduce infections, the quicker we will be able to get through this surge.”
Wroten added that residents interested in supporting local businesses can do so in numerous ways: “Order to go, shop online, buy gift cards from us and continue supporting local restaurants, shops and places of business that also support the community,” Wroten said via email.
Ultimately, McNaughton stressed how crucial it is that the community continues supporting local businesses.
“Now’s the time to shop local,” McNaughton said via email. “If not today, we may not be here tomorrow.”Written by: Shraddha Jhingan — city@theaggie.org
