In Newtown, Bucks County, the Coffee Room has resumed operations, joining a growing number of small businesses popping up along with the spring flowers in the Delaware Valley.
"The weather just seemed to be getting a lot nicer, people seemed to be out and about a lot more, and the initial panic of the whole thing seemed to die down. That, we felt like it’s a safer environment to be open in,” said Mary Kumar, who manages the coffee shop that was closed for over a month.
Shutting down the operation in early April was not an easy decision.
“We were able to stay open the whole time, we just didn’t feel like it was socially responsible to stay open, at least initially, because people were supposed to stay and we didn’t want to give them a different place to go,” she explained.
And it may seem safer now, but the shops are still taking precautions.
Last week, Austin Grubb helped reopen a few "Be Well" cafes in Huntingdon Valley and Richboro.
"We have an app and we’re taking phone orders. But it’s just your typical curbside pickup. So call ahead, take your payment over the phone and when you get here, we have someone run your order out to you. So no contact until we can have people inside,” Grubb said.
He hopes to be able to allow customers back inside the shop as soon as next month.
In Langhorne, Tim James chose to ride out the coronavirus storm at the corner coffee shop he bought nearly one year ago.
“It’s really tough. We’re down about 50% revenue. We’re still losing money, we’re spending out of our savings account, trying to keep as many folks employed as we possibly can,” James said.
But he still believes that staying open was the right choice.
“Re-establishing a business that’s been shut down for any length of time has a tremendous impact. That’s just the economic side. On the human side, we have 14 families that depend on us for a living,” he said.
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