Village Store adjusts, remains open in Sun City West
Limited customers, cleanliness now in vogue
By Whitney Whitlock
Posted 12/12/20
The ongoing pandemic has been the cause of a closure and cancellations for the Sun City West Village Store, but officials worked to incorporate social distancing policies and keep its service going for customers and club artists.
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Business
Village Store adjusts, remains open in Sun City West
Limited customers, cleanliness now in vogue
Posted
Village Store 19803 R.H. Johnson Blvd. Sun City West, AZ
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By Whitney Whitlock
The ongoing pandemic has been the cause of a closure and cancellations for the Sun City West Village Store, but officials worked to incorporate social distancing policies and keep its service going for customers and club artists.
The Village Store closed in March and reopened June 15 with the hours reduced to 9 a.m.-1 p.m. until November. A number of safety precautions have were implemented in accordance to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“We’re using the disinfectant that our company has purchased special; it’s a special COVID disinfectant,” Village Store Supervisor Katie Van Leuven said. “We have plexiglass dividers at our registers. We sanitize all of the glass, doorhandles, pens — everything after customers touch them.”
No more than eight people are allowed inside at a time. All of the staff wear masks and offer free homemade masks for people who come in without one, while people who refuse to wear a mask aren’t allowed to enter the store. But Ms. Van Leuven said that hasn’t been an issue.
“We’ve not had anybody that was a problem, or refused to put one on, or any kind of difficulty; they’re always glad to come in, because they know what we sell, and they usually have a specific thing they’re coming to buy,” she said.
In one case, Ms. Van Leuven said a customer uncomfortable with entering the store purchased items from a club member, who brought the items into the store and carried the credit card slip outside for the customer to sign.
“She was very cautious about coming in, and that’s no problem,” she said. “We can accommodate that, absolutely. It all worked out just great.”
A devastating part of the pandemic is having to cancel both the spring and fall Arts and Crafts Fairs for this year, said Ms. Van Leuven.
“Our craft fair was supposed to have been on March 21,” she said. “We closed the week before the craft fair, and it’s a huge event, so we missed out on that.”
Claudia Burr, Sun City West Stained Glass Club 2019-20 president, said the cancellations of the Arts and Crafts Fairs were impactful for her club because it’s where they have their best sales.
“The craft fairs are open to the community and beyond, so we get people from around the Northwest Valley who come to those Saturday events and ‘ooo’ and ‘aah’ over all the different kinds of crafts,” Ms. Burr said. “It’s a lot of fun to showcase what we do in the community, which draws people in to live here. We get to know some of the people, and we also get to sell some of our crafts to people.”
In the case of the Stained Glass Club, members donate their glasswork to the club; when it sells the items through the Village Store or the craft fairs, a percentage of the sale goes toward both the club and the store.
The club expanded its studio in 2019, and about $4,000 of sales from past craft fairs were contributed to reducing the club’s debt. With the absence of craft fairs in 2020, the club has had to come up with other strategies for raising funds.
“We’re very happy to be able to have our studio, and we look forward to the day the Village Store will allow us to do the craft fair again,” Ms. Burr said.
The Village Store is scheduled to have its next Spring Arts and Crafts Fair March 20, but whether it can still happen is uncertain.
“Everything’s kind of in limbo. We’re doing the best we can, and the people are anxious — they hope we can do it, but we just won’t do it until things get better,” Ms. Van Leuven said. “We’re staying consistently busy during the day. Our sales have been reasonable, and we’re just doing the best we can for our artists to sell their merchandise. It’s definitely worth being open, that’s for sure.”
The Village Store is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. Special holidays hours are also slated. The store will be open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Christmas Eve Thursday, Dec. 24 but will be closed Christmas Day Friday, Dec. 25 and the day after Christmas Saturday, Dec. 26. The store will be open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. New year’s Eve Thursday, Dec. 31 but closed on New Year’s Day Friday, Jan. 1.
Editor’s Note: Ms. Whitlock is an Arizona State University journalism student.