PLACER COUNTY, Calif — In Placer County, the region's biggest mall, the Westfield Galleria at Roseville, is set to reopen Friday, May 22, after being shutdown for two months amid stay-at-home orders because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Doug Wagemann, President of the Roseville Area Chamber of Commerce, said the area has been waiting for the mall to open back up.
"I think that the entire region is waiting with faded breath for the Roseville Galleria to reopen," Wagemann said.
Jeff Richardson, the mall's general manager, says they are expecting about half of their businesses to reopen Friday. Placer County moved fully into stage two of reopening last week, which includes dine-in restaurants and shopping inside of stores, rather than just curbside pickup.
"The whole idea is to restart the engine, but do it safely and do it in the right way," Wagemann said.
Wagemann says the Galleria is one of the largest sales tax contributors in the Roseville area.
"This really starts a flywheel effect in regenerating and recharging the economy of this entire region to where it once was," he said.
In order to keep shoppers safe, here's a list of safety protocols the mall is putting into place:
- Increasing frequency of cleaning measures, focusing on high-touch areas like restrooms and play areas.
- Monitoring the number of shoppers allowed inside.
- Implementing social distancing and face mask policies.
- Putting out more hand sanitizer and hand washing stations.
"The best thing that we can do is do the best that we possibly can to ensure safety and to ensure that everything is being done to best of our ability throughout the region, and I know that the Roseville Galleria is going to be doing the exact same thing," Wagemann said.
While not everyone is ready to race back to the mall, Wagemann said he believes Friday is a critical day in getting Roseville's economy back on track.
"Friday is going to be a big day, there's no doubt about it," he said.
The mall will be opened under modified hours which means 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Lena Howland.
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