Rhonda Croghan was happy to be able to get out of the house Friday.
She was waiting for Bath & Body Works to open its doors at Northgate Shopping Centre, on the hunt for soap and hand sanitizer.
“They have some good soap products and hand sanitizer,” Croghan said. “I really missed it. So I need my soap.”
The province announced Monday shopping malls were included in the second phase of the province's reopening, Friday. But while the mall was open, not all the stores were.
It hasn’t been difficult for Croghan to be in isolation over the past few months, but she understands how others might be struggling.
The shopping centre, she says, is a great place to socialize and, as long as she can practice social distancing, she doesn’t have any concerns about being in a public place.
Getting out also gives her a chance to see and touch what she’s looking for, rather than buying it online.
“Some people own the businesses or the franchises and you're supporting local shopping instead of shopping online,” Croghan says.
“I know that a lot of people . . . shop online with the pandemic, but it's just going to be nice for some of the people to get back to work.”
Bradley Normand also likes to be able to see the items before he purchases them. Friday he was shopping with his mother for birthday gifts, but worried about what stores would be open.
While Normand is happy to be back at the mall, he says it’s difficult for his mother to shop around for a long time without having a bench to sit on.
The benches normally set out in the hallways have been removed during the pandemic.
“I used to work here, so I definitely missed the community feel,” Normand says. “It's just something to do.”
Mary Downe and Judy Keith came to the mall to see what was open.
Online shopping, Keith says, can be difficult due to the longer wait times for delivery. But Friday they were just window shopping, wearing face shields and practicing social distancing during their visit.
“We did order a few things and we're still waiting for stuff. We still haven't received them, but I trust them. But it's much easier to be able to go and get it right away.”
It’s great, they say, to see people out and about in the community again, and being able to walk around the mall – especially during the early days of the pandemic in March – is something they have missed.
“It's great that we can get out and see people.”
Mackenzie Casalino is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
