Coronavirus: Hyannis Businesses Worry Of Potential Summer Impact

HYANNIS, MA — Cape Cod as a whole is a community that thrives off its tourism industry. In 2017, tourism put $1.1 billion into the Barnstable County economy, according to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.

Most of that tourism comes from Memorial Day weekend until the end of summer, and because of the new coronavirus pandemic, local businesses are worried how long the situation will last and if it continues into the summer months.

Amy Wrightson, the owner of Sports Port Bait & Tackle in Hyannis, told Patch her business is open and considered essential because it supports the fishing industry, but the store does the overwhelming majority of its business during summer.

Wrightson said one of the biggest challenges will be hiring new staff and being able to train them before the busy season. She's only allowing one employee in the shop at a time, so training isn't possible right now.

Before Gov. Charlie Baker's Stay-At-Home advisory, Wrightson was at a job fair at Barnstable High School recruiting part-time help for the summer.

"The uncertain part is just not knowing when this will end," Wrightson said. "I'm not sure how this is all going to work. I said 'I want to hire you, but I'm not sure I can."'

Perry Sparrow owns Hot Chocolate Sparrow in Hyannis, a shop that specializes in coffee, desserts, candy and ice cream. Right now, the store is open just for curbside candy pickup. Sparrow said he's also been able to push a lot of online sales.

Sparrow said his business has been fortunate to get support from the community, who have continued to buy Easter candy before the holiday. Still, nothing compares to the business he does in the summer.

"It is making me nervous, but everyone is in this together," Sparrow told Patch, saying he might not be as nervous as some other business owners.

He said a lot of costs have come from cost of goods sold and payroll. Typically, the store has around 40 employees, Sparrow said, but he's had to cut down to operating with mostly just owners and managers.

He's also applied for the small business loan offered in the federal governments relief stimulus package. Sparrow said the application process went smoothly, and took him about a day, but he's unsure when relief will come in.

"It's kind of a shared situation of all of us [businesses] going through the same thing," Sparrow said. "My understanding is no one really knows."

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