Salon owners in South Valley forced to close doors again after Newsom order

Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Salon owners in South Valley having to close doors again after Newsom order
Chairs at Rococo's Salon and Boutique in Visalia will be empty once again as Governor Gavin Newsom announces more businesses to close.

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Customers calling to get a hair appointment will have to wait.

Chairs at Rococo's Salon and Boutique in Visalia will be empty once again as Governor Gavin Newsom announces more businesses to close.

RELATED: Gov. Newsom orders hair salons, gyms, churches, other businesses to close indoor operations in most Central CA counties

"I know I have a list of people for the next three months, they're not going to be happy when I call and cancel," says Daniel Sanchez with the salon.

Along with gyms and places of worship, salons and barbershops in counties on the state's targeted watch list will also have to temporarily stop operating.

That list includes Tulare and Kings Counties.

As of Monday, Tulare County's public health department is reporting nearly 6,000 cases of COVID-19.

Sanchez says they just opened back up a few weeks ago.

This not only means his employees will have to go on unemployment, but they've barely recovered costs since they haven't been able to take in as many customers.

"With the new guidelines, we couldn't get as many customers as the usual. We had to make sure between customers we have to disinfect everything," Sanchez said.

The governor is also ordering statewide closures, like indoor restaurant operations, to cease as COVID-19 cases spike.

Fugazzis' dining room in Visalia has been empty since Newsom ordered indoor dining in certain counties to stop last week.

The general manager says they usually have about 25 employees, and they're now down to nine.

They're relying on take out.

Recently, they've been given the green light to put some tables outside.

"We were barely making it with just take out, but by them letting us have 5 or 6 tables, it's helped out a lot. We have our nose right above the water," says Gabriel Diaz.

Business owners like Sanchez say they have no choice but to follow state orders and hope case numbers go down so they can open back up soon.

For more news coverage on the coronavirus and COVID-19 go to ABC30.com/coronavirus