MILWAUKEE — As Milwaukee eased restrictions to reopen the city, some families and businesses say there is a feeling of caution that goes along with it.
The owners of Black and White Barbershop, Nick Berlin and Jay Whisenten, are making sure they ease back into business.
"It is a very different time," said Jay.
The owners spent Friday doing a deep clean of the shop. They then held a soft opening for customers. In their line of work, cleanliness is a priority. During a pandemic, it is even more important.
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"Different way to do business. We will wear masks while we cut hair. We change our gloves after every client. We spray our clippers. We sanitize our combs. Fresh razor blades. Pretty much every precaution that we learned in school to keep our customers safe," said Nick.
The owners will limit the number of customers inside. Those customers will also have to sign in to not only help the business keep track of who is waiting, but also to serve as a tool in case some tests positive for COVID-19.
"For those that got underlying health conditions younger or older you know we’re trying to make sure we look out for them to the best of our abilities," said Jay.
Milwaukee city playgrounds also opened up Friday. It was a welcome sign for parents.
"It’s great. I still think people need to be safe," said Dan Litvinoff who brought his two kids out.
"We got the hand sanitizer ready to use after we’re done. Go home and wash your hands and just keep doing that until there’s a vaccine," said Dan. He added their face masks were ready to go if more people showed up.
"It’s pretty refreshing to have the ability to go out and still take the proper precautions. We wanted to come here on the earlier side to kind of potentially avoid a large crowd," said Kelsey Norton, another parent who brought her daughter to the park.
Both families seemed to keep their distance from each other while at the playground.
Not everyone is ready to reopen just yet. Some salons are waiting on supplies like personal protective equipment before they invite customers back inside.