PULLMAN, Wash. — For Washington State University student Dillon Rinaldini, getting a simple haircut was one way to begin leaving the memories of Washington's stay-home order in the rear-view mirror.
"It felt great," said Rinaldini, minutes after getting a haircut at The Man Shop in Pullman. "It's one step closer to getting back to feeling like I'm my normal self."
The popular barbershop, which also has locations in the Spokane area and Wenatchee, opened on Saturday after Whitman County entered the second phase of Washington's "Safe Start" plan for reopening the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
A handful of other Eastern Washington counties have already been approved to move to phase two of the plan as well. Under state rules, counties with a population of less than 75,000 and no new cases of COVID-19 in the last three weeks may apply for a variance from the state's Safe Start plan. The application process requires support from the local health officer, the local board of health, local hospitals, and the county commission or council.
While The Man Shop was able to welcome customers back, health safeguards were in place for both stylists and guests, including mandatory face masks.
Additionally, customers were required to clean their hands before a haircut. Barber chairs were also thoroughly cleaned.
"[The state rules] are not that much different than what we're already following as far as sanitation, that kind of thing, and cleanliness," said Man Shop managing member Michael Howe. "It's just difficult to get the supplies you need. So we've had to scramble a little bit there."
Howe said the Pullman location had been busy since its Saturday opening. Additionally, some customers from the Spokane area ventured down to the Pullman shop for a haircut.
"From a business standpoint, it's great. It's been difficult to be shut down for over two months," said Howe. "We received multiple requests every single day from our customers over this time period asking, 'When are you going to re-open?'."
While Whitman County had been given the green light to enter Phase 2 of the state's plan, not all local barber shops were ready to reopen just yet.
Legends Barbershop, also in Pullman, told KREM that state guidelines for reopening were "almost unrealistic" for a business its size and barbers who act as independent contractors. In addition to the costs associated with purchasing personal protective equipment, Legends said they were deciding to open in a later phase of the state's plan.
The county's Phase 2 status also meant that local restaurants could reopen their dining rooms with reduced capacity.
"It's really nice," said Tawny Szumlas, who owns Rico's Pub in downtown Pullman. "I love cooking for people."
Rico's opened last Friday with state-imposed social distancing measures in place. Notably, some tables inside the restaurant were closed and patrons were not allowed to sit at the bar.
The restaurant's patio, however, proved to be a popular destination when they first opened.
"I think people just really enjoyed being outside, talking to other people, having a beer. It was nice," Szumlas said.
In addition to an emphasis on sanitizing eating areas, Szumlas said the restaurant was only giving customers paper menus and throwing them away after each use.
As of Tuesday, the longtime Pullman restaurant was serving mostly local customers and hadn't seen any guests come from Spokane. The weekend that would have represented WSU's graduation, Szumlas explained, did represent a spike in to-go orders for the restaurant, presumably from families helping students move out of campus housing.
While Szumlas was happy to have dine-in guests once again, she remarked that Rico's was still running on a "bare-bones" crew as a result of COVID-19's financial toll.
"You do worry a little bit," she said in regards to social distancing measures starting to lift in parts of the state. "But hopefully with a lower population, we can keep [the virus] contained."