The world and small businesses everywhere have been affected by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Even huge companies are filing bankruptcy because months of reduced sales are creating cash flow issues and causing permanent damage to their businesses. As the world’s businesses start to slowly come back to life again, business owners are becoming creative with how they can safely serve their customers, keeping both the customers and the business’s employees safe. In German, for example, state-wide lockdown measures are beginning to be relaxed somewhat because Germany is one of the countries that has best dealt with the pandemic.
As of May 14, 2020, Germany has had only 174,948 cases and 7,928 deaths, which is a lot, but far less than other countries have suffered. On May 6th, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the country has met its goal of slowing down the virus and asked everyone to remain as cautious as possible so that they can avoid a second wave of the virus. On that same date, the German government said that it would lift some of the restrictions, giving restaurants and cafes the chance to open again as long as they follow certain restrictions. One cafe in Schwerin restarted its business in a creative way.
“Café Rothe Schwerin” is serving customers outside and has made sure that they’ve spaced out the tables by 4.9 feet so that they can help customers practice social distancing. But that wasn’t sufficient, according to the owner, Jacqueline Rothe. She decided to go the extra mile by coming up with the ingenious idea of giving patrons a special tool to help them be aware of social distancing: pool noodles. Check out these awesome images, via the cafe’s Facebook page.
That’s right, the cafe created hats out of pool noodles that give the precise distance customers should stay away from each other and from the cafe’s staff. Rothe clarified that this is a one-time event done especially for the opening of the cafe, and isn’t a permanent solution.In addition to being a coffee shop, the cafe is a popular stop for confectioneries such as delicious sweets and cakes.
We think this is a sweet idea! (sorry, we couldn’t resist…)
