Local businesses are responding quickly to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's new executive order -- some opening immediately, some brainstorming new ways to operate, and others going completely virtual. And the continuing crisis is ushering in major changes to everything from Interlochen’s summer camp to the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market to Traverse City Area Public Schools’ superintendent search.

Whitmer’s order allows businesses including golf courses, garden centers, nurseries, bike repair shops, and landscaping/lawn care companies to reopen effective immediately, provided they follow certain safety and social distancing protocols. Stores selling nonessential items can reopen for curbside pickup and delivery, and motorized boating and golf are allowed (carts are prohibited). Additional business sectors could reopen before May 15 if coronavirus cases continue trending downward, though Whitmer cautioned the state may have to “go backward” if cases spike. To avoid a second wave, the governor’s order includes a mandate for residents to wear masks/face coverings in all enclosed public spaces starting Monday, including grocery stores and pharmacies.

Local business owners responded swiftly to Whitmer’s announcement. Interlochen Golf Course announced it was opening for the season, encouraging customers to make tee times and pay by phone for walking-only games, while Bay Meadows Family Golf Course is also opening both nines and its driving range. Traverse City’s Garden Goods will open its doors effective today (Saturday) at 9am, while Pine Hill is opening for curbside pickup and mulch/soil deliveries and then welcoming in-store customers beginning May 1. Suttons Bay is reopening its North Park boat launch for boaters. In downtown Traverse City, bookstore Brilliant Books said it would begin offering curbside pickup again effective Monday, using a maximum of three in-store staff members “working in separate areas which are cleaned and disinfected regularly.”

Reached by phone by The Ticker Friday, Brick Wheels owner Tim Brick was in the middle of a brainstorming session with staff on how to quickly prepare for reopening for bike repairs Monday. “We have the whole front room torn out for cleaning and some upgrades, so we’re not ready for retail sales, but on the service end of it we’re trying to work out protocols,” says Brick. “We’ve got to sanitize bikes before they come in. We have to get masks and gloves for all the employees. I’m making a list and planning to go to the breweries to get more sanitizer. We’re looking at getting walkie-talkies (for social distancing among staff). We’re writing up a whole detailed plan.”

Brick says there’s “a lot of pent-up demand” among customers eager to get their bikes tuned up for spring and get outside as temperatures warm. He expresses wariness, though, about suddenly throwing the store’s doors wide open – a sentiment expressed by other business owners and workers still concerned about disease spread. “One of my mechanics is not comfortable coming in, regardless of (the order change), because he has a young daughter who is asthmatic,” Brick says, adding that he plans to offer contactless curbside and delivery service for customers with similar concerns. Brick is also still grappling with applying for federal loans and trying to stay on top of communicating changes on the business’ website, store doors, signs, and social media accounts. “It’s not just turning a key,” he says about reopening. “There’s a lot to it. It’ll be a slow trickle turning everything back on.”

Other organizations are also preparing for a slow transition back to “normal,” with several undergoing major structural changes even with the first signs of relaxed guidelines. Interlochen Center for the Arts announced Friday it will cancel its 2020 summer camp, marking the first time in 93 years the program won't take place. “No words can fully capture our profound sadness and disappointment in the loss of convening on campus, but we are guided by our first priority: ensuring the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, volunteers, guests, and the entire Interlochen community,” said President Trey Devey.

Interlochen will instead host a three-week virtual camp program called Interlochen Online from June 29-July 17. Programs will be offered in a variety of disciplines and administered using Canvas and Zoom, featuring special instruction and coaching by industry leaders, “virtual cabin” social activities, multidisciplinary performances, synchronous camp-wide events, and camp-in-a-box supplies sent to students’ homes. The school has launched a website with details on Interlochen Online, as well as an FAQ page on camp tuition reimbursement and deferment. Interlochen has terminated all of its seasonal employment agreements for the 2020 camp season, a roster that includes more than 1,000 staff members each summer. According to Director of Media Relations and Communications Simone Silverbush, “some” of those employees – the exact figure will depend on registration, she said – will be retained to administer Interlochen Online, with year-round staff filling in the gaps.

Traverse City’s Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market will also convert to a virtual model for the month of May, with both virtual and physical market options expected the rest of the summer. The Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Taste the Local Difference are working with vendors to get inventory lists and photos of their products for a virtual marketplace that will launch May 2, with the first customer pickup set for May 9. DDA CEO Jean Derenzy says she’s hopeful at least 45 vendors will be involved, with customers able to buy products from multiple stands during the week in one online order. Vendors will then drop off their ordered products to the market on Saturday morning, where staff will assemble them into packages for customer pickup. Customers will be able to pay online in advance or in person with cash, with social distancing measures in place during pickup. The online market will continue through at least August, Derenzy says, but the DDA plans to also open the physical market starting in June on Wednesdays and Saturdays with an expanded reconfigured layout for customers who want to shop on-site.

Finally, Traverse City Area Public Schools will begin what could become an entirely virtual interview process to find the district’s next superintendent today (Saturday) at 8am. The first round of interviews with five candidates will be streamed live online and on cable channel 190, with each interview lasting more than one hour and a break scheduled for lunch. The complete agenda, schedule, and instructions for public comment for today’s meeting are online here. With no way to prevent candidates from tuning in and hearing questions posed during early interviews, all candidates were given their questions in advance to create a level playing field. TCAPS board members will meet again virtually Monday at 6pm to select two finalists to advance to a final round of interviews on May 11 and 12. While those interviews traditionally include intensive district tours and face-to-face meetings with faculty and staff, this year they could be held entirely online – as could the final vote to select TCAPS’ next leader.