Here’s how Whatcom businesses are making shopping and dining inside safer for winter
As the days get colder and COVID-19 remains a threat, many Whatcom County business owners are trying to help customers feel more comfortable about coming inside. One solution: Installing new ventilation systems.
Local restaurants in particular are in a tough spot. After taking advantage of the nice weather during the summer months to expand outdoor seating, not as many customers will view that as an option with the arrival of rain and wind.
In the current Phase 2 period of Washington’s Safe Start program, indoor dining is at less than 50% capacity with no more than six people at a table. With that reduced capacity, restaurants will need to reach that capacity level regularly or expand to-go sales in order to cover expenses.
At Brandywine Kitchen, co-owner Azizi Tookas said they’ve been focusing their attention on creating a safe indoor environment after expanding their outdoor seating. They recently had Feller Heating & Air Conditioning install two air purification systems to inactivate and remove airborne viruses. The cost was less than $5,000.
Retail businesses, especially those in small, tight spaces, have also been putting in new systems. Steve Roguski said they installed a system at Fairhaven Runners that cost around $10,000, something that was a little more expensive in order to add in extra air ducts to bring in more fresh air. The system includes high-end filters, bipolar ionization, ultraviolet light as well as other methods to clean the indoor air.
“We want our staff to feel safe and for customers to feel confident continuing to shop with us inside the store,” Roguski said in an email.
A booming business
The installation of these new ventilation and purification systems has had local installation companies busy much of the summer. At Barron Heating, installation of commercial systems was “off the charts” this summer, said owner/CEO John Barron.
Medical and dental offices were the first to start calling after the arrival of COVID-19, followed by businesses concerned about their staff members, particularly in office settings. Retail stores/restaurants have followed suit, Barron said.
Steve Felbinger of Feller Heating & Air Conditioning also noticed the uptick in business, particularly for office buildings. Much of their air quality business was in homes in recent years as people deal with the annual late-summer wildfire smoke.
“That conversation about air quality is in almost every phone call we get now,” Felbinger said.
Companies have been able to keep up with service calls and installation, but Felbinger and Barron said having the product available can be a challenge because of demand. Since many systems generally take a few hours to install, turnaround time is quick so many HVAC companies can still get systems installed before winter arrives.
While improving indoor air quality is the overall goal, this jump in installations is also sending a message to customers that businesses are concerned about slowing the spread of the virus, said Dave Lybecker, who owns Ray Heating and Air. Lybecker worked with Roguski to make sure Fairhaven Runners had the appropriate system in place for that space.
“If you can show that you are taking steps to make a place safe, it helps remove that temperament of fear that customers have,” Lybecker said.
Do these systems work?
Since COVID-19 is so new, there’s not enough testing for this specific virus to draw definitive conclusions yet, Felbinger said. However many in the HVAC industry are optimistic because they say the systems have been effective against similar viruses.
In recent years plenty of new technology at different price levels have arrived on the market to tackle this problem, including ultraviolet and ionization methods. When improving indoor air quality, several strategies are usually employed:
▪ Ventilation: Removing the indoor air and bringing in fresh air.
▪ Destruction: Using methods to kill the virus or making it inactive.
▪ Clumping: Getting the virus to clump together so that it doesn’t pass through the filtration system.
This trend of installing new indoor air systems is expected to have a few other side benefits for customers: While the data isn’t in on COVID-19, these systems should help slow down or deter other germs and viruses such as the flu or the common cold.
“It will make a big difference in knocking down colds,” said Barron, who noted that’s he’s already noticed that downturn in cold infections among his 150 employees after putting in five different systems at its Ferndale showroom. “In offices, this will be a good benefit for business productivity.”
What do health experts think?
Whatcom Unified Command does recommend businesses consult with HVAC professionals to determine the best way to maximize a specific ventilation system. It is not the only step, however.
“It is important to note that these precautions should be a part of a larger strategy that includes social distancing, wearing cloth face coverings or masks, surface cleaning and disinfecting, handwashing and other precautions,” said Amy Cloud, public information officer for the unified command.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggests a variety of ways to slow the spread of COVID-19 with indoor air, including bringing in as much outdoor air as possible, improving air filtration systems and making sure exhaust fans in restrooms are operating correctly.
Preparing for winter
While online orders and to-go and delivery service have increased for many local businesses this summer, it’s becoming clear that in-store and dine-in services remain important to the bottom line.
At Brandywine, to-go sales have risen, but dine-in sales were still about 70% of the business this summer, Tookas said. Overall sales this summer were down about a third compared to 2019 for the downtown restaurant.
Fairhaven Runners has also seen an increase in online activity, but sales are still overwhelmingly done in the store. Overall sales are running about 20% behind last year.
“The (website) is very good and comprehensive, but our customers seem to prefer coming into the store for super-personalized help and we get that, since that’s been our philosophy and model for success from the get-go,” Roguski said.
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
