Ellicott City Small Businesses Face Yet Another Hardship, This Time Due To COVID-19 Pandemic
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- The coronavirus pandemic has impacted small businesses all around the world, but there is one town here in Maryland that has faced two catastrophes in two years. Now, they are dealing with yet another economic crisis.
Spring time is usually primetime in Old Ellicott City, but COVID-19 has left the renaissance mill town nearly empty.
Howard County Executive said this week that his jurisdiction is not ready to reopen just yet.
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"We do not have the building blocks in place for stage one reopening," Ball said.
Ellicott City has had practice with defeating disasters, however, as business owners and their partners put on a strong front that everything will be okay.
Leeza Ennis, Owner of envy salon, has successfully run her business for two decades.
In 1999, there was a six-alarm fire in Old Ellicott City.
"We noticed there's this big black cloud all over Ellicott City, and we were like, 'What is that?'" Ennis said.
In 2011, Tropical Storm Lee brought flooding. But then in 2016, there was more. What was supposed to be a thousand year flood repeated itself two years later.
Now in 2020, Ellicott City is fighting a different enemy, COVID-19.
"It's sad, there are a lot of folks here that have been through a lot," Corey Mull, of Manor Hill Tavern, said.
Mull, Ennis' next door neighbor, had to close a restaurant. He transitioned to curbside at two other locations
to keep some staff.
"I know there are retailers here waiting to do any kind of opening," he said. "We are at least able to do that."
Much like after the floods, business will take time to come back, under the motto: Ellicott City Strong.
"We will come back," Ennis said. "We have every intention to fight hard and come back."
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
