LEWES, Del. - Many small business owners say the Governor’s actions could cost them everything. But a Lewes artist, Abraxas Hudson, is thinking outside the box, adapting and trying to keep his business alive.
He found a way to turn his non-essential business into essential. Abraxas Studio of Art is now considered a home furnishing store, and is only taking visits by appointment. Brax Hudson wants what he calls “fair play for small business now.”
"Lowes, Wawa, gas stations, liquor stores, many businesses were allowed to operate fully as long as you wear a mask. So my big question all along was, why are we not allowed to follow those same protocols and be open?" says Hudson.
Being open came with scowls from people walking by, and the threat of being arrested by police.
"So they told me I had to shut down my business, comply with the curbside pick up, or face a criminal charge for being open,” he says. So he complied and re-invented his business model to become essential. His store is also selling masks and hand sanitizer.
"If the governor is mandating hand sanitizer [and] masks, and if I’m selling that, then guess what? You can’t argue with my essential nature of the business right?”
As bills began to stack up, he decided enough is enough.
"If you don't push back against what you believe is unjust, you really can't hope to get your freedoms back. So we have to start fighting for what we believe is right, and what I believe is right is fair play for small business.”
Another local small business owner came to the store and explained to Hudson her frustrations and disappointment, saying that her home furnishing store should be fully reopened.
“I do need people to support my business, or after 32 years I am not going to have a business,” the woman says.
Customers stopped by the store after making an appointment for home furnishing items and hand sanitizer.
Hudson hopes Governor Carney hears the concerns of small businesses.
"I’m asking him to give us a chance to have our businesses open now, treat us the same way you treat big corporations, and give us a voice and a vote here on the street. Hey look, we just want to survive, we just want to go to work,” says Hudson.
Hudson says Carney's newest step to reopen retail stores is a move in the right direction, but for now he is still limited to two appointments per half hour. He says it feels like their voices are being heard, but not getting the action they want to see quickly enough.