I’m the Only Business Owner Requiring Masks for COVID-19 in My Small Town | Eater

"A family-run café in Philip, South Dakota, opened by the author, her mom, and sister to fill the town’s long-standing need for a local coffee shop. During the pandemic they adopted cautious, community-focused practices—requiring masks for employees and customers (unique in town), eliminating indoor seating, and offering three ordering options (online prepay with back-door pickup, call-in back-door pickup, or masked to-go ordering inside). Implementing online ordering took many extra hours but has become a convenient service customers now appreciate. Their mask policy, intended to protect vulnerable family members and keep schools and sports running, cost them some regular customers and stirred local disagreement, though they’ve avoided violent confrontations and will provide disposable masks to patrons who arrive unmasked. After a household quarantine following the owner’s husband testing positive, the owner felt reassured that mask-wearing likely prevented wider spread. Despite hardships, the café continues to gain new supporters, remains optimistic about survival, and considers the space an important asset to the community while hoping broader leadership would normalize mask use." - Trisha Larson