Downtown Bangor Businesses to Provide Face Masks for Customers

Downtown Bangor businesses are working on ways to accommodate the governor's guidelines when they reopen, including providing face masks to anyone who doesn't have one.

It's a challenging retail climate, with social distancing and cleaning protocols, face masks and limiting the number of customers. Many small business owners in downtown Bangor have been working out the logistics for their own stores, in preparation for reopening in June. The Downtown Bangor Partnership is working with them, to find solutions.

Some of the changes shoppers will encounter while visiting downtown businesses include signs in the windows, detailing the regulations and possibly doormen at the entrances to enforce them. One of those requirements is that each shopper must wear a mask in public spaces, especially where socially distancing is difficult, like in some of the smaller shops downtown.

The partnership is offering a reopening gift of disposable face masks, that they can give to customers who don't have one or have forgotten theirs. The masks will be available at the entrance for anyone who needs them.

"Small businesses are incredibly cognizant of wanting to protect their employees and customers," says Downtown Bangor Coordinator Betsy Lundy, "and the Downtown Bangor Partnership recognizes the financial burden safety measures can put on small businesses that are already struggling."

 Some business owners are opting not to open as early as June 1st, and are asking their customers to be patient while they work out the logistics of the 'new normal.' The city of Bangor is discussing closing some downtown streets to allow businesses to expand their operation outside the doors, in order to accommodate social distancing. However, not all business owners are in favor of the idea.