Just a few days after they were told to close because San Francisco had been put on the state’s coronavirus activity monitoring list, shops at San Francisco's Ferry Building can reopen again.
In a new COVID-19 reclassification order, the state names the Ferry Building as a transportation terminal, not an indoor mall, allowing both indoor and outdoor businesses to reopen. Malls in areas on the state monitoring list for more than three consecutive days are required to shutdown.
Debbie Zachareas, the owner of Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, said the news is fantastic.
“If you consider how many large businesses, whether it’s Costco or Whole Foods or Safeway, people are walking into, the Ferry Building is no different,” Zachareas told KCBS Radio. “If anything, it’s smaller than some of those locations, so allowing people to come back in was really critical for many of the vendors.”
Before the reclassification order, her business was already preparing for an extended indoor closure by opening an outdoor patio.
"We’ll be serving all our wines by the glass and by the bottle out on the patio,” Zachareas said.
Officials have increased cleaning procedures at the building and are requiring visitors to wear facemasks indoors.