Some Lexington stores open to shoppers as Kentucky COVID-19 retail restrictions lifted
Wednesday marked the first day in months that some Kentucky retail stores opened their doors to the public, and the limited number of customers who took advantage may have found stores somewhat different than they saw them last.
One of Lexington’s largest shopping centers, Fayette Mall, opened Wednesday morning for the first time in nearly two months. More than half of the stores inside remained closed.
Some big mall retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dillard’s were up and running, while Macy’s and H&M had not yet opened for in-store shopping.
There were customers throughout the mall, but the number of shoppers was sparse enough Wednesday morning for people to spread out. Many shoppers wore masks.
Benches, photo booths and other areas in the mall where groups might congregate were roped off Wednesday, and the food court remained closed.
There was a similar scene at other open air shopping centers in Lexington Wednesday morning, including the Summit at Fritz Farm, Hamburg Pavilion and Lexington Green. At both locations, some stores remained closed.
Two of the biggest stores in Hamburg Pavilion, Barnes & Noble and Kohl’s, elected not to open on the first day they could.
All nonessential retail stores were ordered to close to in-person shopping in March in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. After numbers appeared to indicate a consistent “plateau” of new cases, state officials found it safe to start opening retail stores — but not without changes.
Stores were required to implement a series of adjustments to ensure that shoppers and workers would be able to maintain a safe level of social distancing inside the stores. The guidelines put out by the state included mask requirements and limits on the number of customers allowed to be in stores at once.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 1:45 PM.
