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Stickers mark the floors of Manny’s on Marshall Street to help customers maintain six feet of distance from one another.

The retail store — a popular destination for Syracuse University students, fans and visitors — reopened May 30 with social distancing measures in place after closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. For nearly two months, the store sold items only online.

“We’ve got cash counter protection for the employee working (at the cash register),” said Mike Theiss, the store’s general manager. “Which is me, basically.”

Along with enduring temporary closures and social distancing regulations, Manny’s and other stores, bars and restaurants on Marshall Street have had to find ways to survive without some of their most loyal customers: SU students.

Onondaga County began its reopening process on May 15 with state approval and moved into phase three on June 12. Offices, retail stores, restaurants and hair salons have all been allowed to reopen under social distancing guidelines.

Acropolis Pizza House currently offers delivery and carry-out service and is open from about 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant sometimes closes earlier. Without any students around, it’s difficult to operate for more than eight hours a day, owner Peter Mavrikidis said.

“There are no students, and the people around here, they don’t go out,” Mavrikidis said. “It’s going to go back to as normal as it can be. It takes some time but we’ll get there.”

Not all businesses on Marshall Street have reopened since the shutdown began. Café Kubal remains closed, although two other Café Kubal locations in the city of Syracuse have reopened.

Varsity Pizza reopened May 19 only for take-out, shift supervisor Eric Ockert said. The restaurant hopes to resume indoor service at 50% capacity now that the county has entered phase three of the reopening process, he said.

Once indoor dining resumes, the challenge will be spacing tables to maintain social distancing, Okert said.

“We’re supposed to be keeping six feet apart, but if we’re not able to, that’s when the mask comes into play,” Okert said. “Here in the restaurant, we expect people to have their mask on because it’s very difficult to maintain that six feet.”

Customers have so far complied with the requirement to wear masks when picking up orders, he said.

J. Michael Shoes is open for curbside pickup and online orders, owner John Vavalo said. The store is working to restructure its layout to promote social distancing and hire more staff to monitor the number of customers inside, he said.

“Our store is not really set up for all the regulations,” Vavalo said.

Orange Crate Brewing Company is serving food and drinks through its takeout window from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, according to their Instagram page. The restaurant has also opened outdoor seating.

Strong Hearts On The Hill remained open for takeout and curbside pickup throughout the pandemic, according to its Facebook page. The restaurant operates from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Manny’s announced its reopening on Facebook and changed its status on Google to get the word out to customers, Theiss said. The store saw little business on its first day open, mostly due to uncertainty surrounding the reopening process, he said.

Both business owners and customers have been confused by the reopening, Theiss said.

Theiss temporarily laid off his staff while Manny’s was closed. Although he’s the only one working now, he hopes to start rehiring employees as business picks up. As the university brings back some faculty and staff, the store has seen an uptick in business, he said.

“Normally this is a slow time of year for us anyways,” Theiss said. “Without the students around and the campus pretty quiet, it’s quite slower than usual.”

Theiss is also concerned about an altered or canceled football season impacting his business, which SU students and fans primarily frequent. Less attendance at games –– if the games take place at all ––will harm his business, Theiss said.

Plans for SU’s fall football season remain unclear. The university may implement reduced capacity in the Carrier Dome and mandatory temperature checks for game attendees, Director of Athletics John Wildhack said at a press conference earlier this month.

But with a 70-year legacy and a loyal following of customers, Theiss isn’t worried about sustaining the business going forward.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty because our business is wholly dependent on the university and what they wind up doing,” Theiss said. “I think this next year is going to be challenging, but hopefully after that things will go back to normal.”

Published on June 25, 2020 at 7:54 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan