The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

7 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,D ecem ber 3,2020 w aterloochronicle.ca "They can just call the store and book an appoint- ment and the store will be theirs," said April Jackson at the Sock Factory in The Shops at Waterloo Town Square. Jackson said the free appointments to browse are available out- side regular business hours this holiday season. "We just wanted to make it easier with the stressful times," she said. Jackson said she's still seeing lots of walk-in cus- tomers, many of whom must wait outside in the mall to comply with the store's two-customer limit and use hand sanitizer up- on entry - a practise she's had in place for months. Waterloo region's medi- cal officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang has issued an order requiring retail oper- ators to ensure capacity and proper distancing mea- sures are actively moni- tored as dictated by the red control tier of the province's pandemic framework. "Our biggest fear is they're going to bump us to grey and then we're toast," said Scott Puncher at Paul Puncher men's wear. "It's sad what's going on," he said. "No one's going any- where." Suit fittings for Christ- mas parties certainly aren't happening this year, though Puncher is encouraging people to get dressed up with nowhere to go and con- sider the "lifestyle wear" in his showroom that expan- ded six years ago with a 1,600-square-foot addition to the old train station. The business still greatly depends on foot traffic. "With this code red now, there's a lot of people who don't understand it," said Puncher. "I'm shocked with the amount of regulars who've had stuff to pick up and ask, 'How do I get in? You're closed right?' "We're fully open." The store is offering gift wrapping and local delivery and people can also shop online or make after-hour appointments. "Businesses are in sur- vival mode these days," said Tracy Van Kalsbeek, execu- tive director of the Uptown Waterloo BIA. While many have suc- cumbed to the financial hardships brought on by COVID-19, many others still are overwhelmed, she said, trying to maximize oppor- tunities to help people shop locally. The Uptown BIA's annu- al Hop n Shop weekend (Dec. 4-6) has now become a month-long online cam- paign in partnership with the Hey Local platform fea- turing local gift ideas from across the region. Van Kalsbeek said local BIAs in the tri-city area are challenging citizens to do at least 50 per cent of their shopping at local business- es this holiday season. Dianne DeJong at the Just Love Pie Café never re- opened the café area of her business last June and has been doing full takeout and curbside pickup ever since. People are stocking up on meat pies these days fearing a complete lock- down, said DeJong, who's still missing those who'd be stopping en route to festive functions at Christmas- time. "Drop-offs as gifts for people are wonderful, whether it's a gift card, some tarts or a pie," she said. "The Amazons of the world are great for some things, but at the end of the day we work hard for our money and it's important that we then choose where to spend that money wise- ly," Keshvani said. "Keeping it in your own city is imperative to make sure our economy remains strong." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Local stores hope to keep their doors open this holiday season as stricter capacity restrictions are implemented due to CO- VID-19. NEWS Continued from page 1 'KEEPING IT IN YOUR OWN CITY IS IMPERATIVE TO MAKE SURE OUR ECONOMY REMAINS STRONG' It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in uptown. Businesses are hoping the same holds true when it comes to shopping this season. Bill Jackson/Metroland