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Date: 3/15/2021
HOLYOKE – Seating at the Holyoke Mall food court is still closed to the public despite restrictions around the coronavirus pandemic loosening, something some businesses say is unfair and hurting their business.
Marie Muche, owner of The Greek Place, said she has been at the Holyoke Mall for a little over 41 years and she’s never seen business decline to the level it’s currently at. “Businesses has been declining throughout the years, especially in malls. Business is not what it used to be,” she said.
While the mall had tables in place for part of the summer of 2020 business was okay, and there was a method in place to ensure they were always disinfected after use. “They brought back some tables back in June. They brought back 22 and we were very happy with it.They had a setup and it was perfect, the minute someone got up they had someone to clean and disinfect, and they put a sticker on it to let people know it was disinfected,” she said.
Muche said when the tables were taken away in December, her situation became much worse. “On Dec. 12, they took them out. It totally killed us,” she said.
She said she felt it was unfair that the tables weren’t allowed to be put back as restaurants, MGM Casino in Springfield and rest stops along highways were open, functioning and had seating similar to the mall. However, Muche said the height of the mall’s ceilings and open space should be seen as an advantage, not a reason to keep seating closed.
“Everything else is open. We have more space than any restaurant, higher ceilings than any restaurant. The casino is open, they have tables. Go on the highway, all the restaurants, they have tables and it’s cafe style” she said. Muche added that they “don’t have to put them six-feet apart,” but instead could space tables 10-feet apart due to the amount of space they had to work with.
She said she had written to both Governor Charlie Baker and local state representatives, but had not heard back from anyone. “If I was a McDonald’s or Burger King, they would have written. I’m well known. I have people coming from 15-20 minutes away to pick up lunch, it’s very difficult,” she said. “I may not survive this, I’m 66 and I work at least six days a week open to close.”
Muche said she would like a reason why they were not able to have tables in the food court. “I’d just like for Mr. Baker to say this is why. Give me a reason so when my customers ask me,” she said.
While she’s still open for takeout, she said she felt frustrated by the situation and was hoping to bring attention to the matter as it wasn’t enough to keep her business alive. She also emphasized that she didn’t blame the mall, as “they’re really trying” to bring the tables and business back to the food court.
General Manager of the mall, Bill Rogalski, said they were continuing discussions with state officials “regarding the restoration of seating and table options within the food court at our property.”
“The lack of adequate seating, despite proper sanitizing measures in place and socially distant tabling, continues to negatively impact our food court tenants’ business since patrons can’t easily sit down and relax over a meal,” he said. “These businesses are simply looking to be treated fairly like other venues, including rest stops, which have been allowed to have several seating for patrons.”
Rogalski said the mall was “fully prepared to expand our efforts on this front once the state allows us to fully restore our food court venues’ seating and table configuration in a responsible and health-conscious way.”
Holyoke Board of Health Director, Sean Gonsalves, told Reminder Publishing that food courts in enclosed shopping malls across the state were prohibited from being open as outlined in safety standards in guidelines for retail businesses. Currently, he said, “The state has not provided a date for when this may change.”