OSWEGO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – With New York State giving several regions the green light to re-open Phase Two businesses, small businesses are finally opening their doors, with the appropriate precautions in place, to their communities.

JP Jewelers in Oswego has been serving the CNY community for a decade now, whether it be everyday watches, or hand-crafting the championship rings for the Oswego Speedway. So, as they had to put their business on hold for 10 weeks, co-owner Kevin Hill said they’ve seen hard losses.

“This is a unique situation”, Hills said. “We’ve never seen an interruption in business this long or this severe.”

They’ve stayed afloat through the strong community, and the financial resources and programs made available by the city and the state. They’ve stayed in touch with their loyal customers through social media, texting and even phone calls.

“In a small town, you develop pretty strong relationships with their customers they have your phone number, they see you at the store, they see you around town”, said Hill.

JP Jewelers’ cases are empty now, the rings, watches and other merchandise put away for reasons like security. But come Monday, they’ll be full again, a sight both the business owners and their customer base can’t wait to see.

They will allow a maximum of two people in at a time to maintain social distancing. Those customers will be given hand sanitizer or disposable gloves, and will be required to wear a face covering. Plus, JP Jewelers says they have special equipment to keep the jewelry and the ring-sizers sanitized in between each customer trying things on. Now, it’s up to the customers to come back to the small businesses.

“Now is the time to support your small businesses – they need you the most right now, this is it. When businesses come back online, get in line, see them, help them support them… I think that when this is over, we can count on many of the small businesses coming out of this stronger than when they went in.”

Kevin Hill
Co-Owner, JP Jewelers

JP Jewelers will open Monday, June 1. They operate Monday-Saturday and take both walk-ins and appointments.

More from NewsChannel 9:

For more local news, follow Natasha Yurek on Twitter @NatashaYurek