DARE COUNTY, N.C. — Virginia is set to enter Phase 1 of reopening next week, but neighboring North Carolina started Friday at 5 p.m.
Their version is a bit different. Restaurants must stick with takeout and delivery. Salons, theaters, and gyms can’t open yet. Retail businesses could open at 50 percent capacity.
But as restrictions are easing up for North Carolinians, the start of Phase 1 didn’t look much different in Dare County.
Most non-essential retail businesses could open, but a lot of owners chose to wait for the weekend.
“Our normal hours are 10 to 6 anyways,” said Foxy Flamingo Boutique manager Sydney Sheldon. “I didn’t think anyone would want to come out at night.”
Sheldon took the afternoon to prepare the Nags Head boutique.
“I mapped out where they can be when they come in,” Sheldon said. “I put in a sanitation station.”
Many shops from Duck to Nags Head followed suit. The Outlets in Nags Head told us in a statement that four shops will open Saturday.
Kevin Carey’s Outer Barks business is essential because they sell pet supplies. However, besides restaurants, he was the only one open in his shopping strip Friday.
“The non-essential businesses will be ready to open probably 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning on Saturday,” Carey said.
Dare County is only recommending face masks, but Carey is taking extra precautions.
"We are still going to require face masks for the next week or two," Carey said. “Just until we are more comfortable.”
He’s hoping for better days once visitors come back on May 16.
“We have rent due, so this is our bread and butter,” Carey said. “We have a lot of bills to pay.”
Sheldon isn’t sure what to expect on Saturday, but she’s ready to sell.
“We literally are just based on tourists,” Sheldon said. “I don’t know how our little island is going to handle all this.”
State officials ask people to remember the three W’s: Wear a face cover, wash your hands, always wait six feet apart.