DE PERE, Wis (NBC 26) -- On Tuesday Governor Evers issued an emergency order, which amounts to a series of recommendations to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Some business owners say with the new recommendations suggested, they really won't have to make many changes to try and keep their employees and the community as safe as they can.
The owners of bars, restaurants, and even retail shops tuned in Tuesday night to hear what Governor Evers was going to say about the state's growing COVID-19 problem.
"It's not safe to go out. It's not safe to have others over. It's just not safe and it might not be safe for a while," said Governor Evers shortly after 6 p.m. Monday evening.
In De Pere, the owner of Game Trade tuned in as well, wondering if some new regulations or mandates could impact his business.
"Really the executive order is just a list of recommendations and I'm glad they are out there. But I think it's going to be up to the business owners and community to come together and make those rules for themselves," says Gregg Johnson the owner of Game Trade.
Johnson says the pandemic hasn't hit his business as hard as others. He remembers back in June when his used video game retail shop opened back up, and customers were flocking to his shop for entertainment.
"We got really lucky that way. Once we opened in June it was like gangbusters. You could tell people we're hungry to get back into our shop and that kids were probably driving their parents nuts saying, "I need something to play."
Beginning on June 1st, when Johnson reopened, he started requiring masks to be worn in his store by everyone. He has also began offering a mask to anyone showing up to shop. On top of that, he now has just one entrance rather than two, so that he can better regulate how many customers are allowed inside at once. It's a lot, but something Johnson hopes will slow the spread of COVID-19.
And in a move that surprised Johnson himself, this year he has called off Black Friday at his store. He decided that the risk of crowds showing up to his shop for deals presented more of a concern than a benefit for his business.
"As much as we love all the support that we get, we want to make sure that our customers are safe. We know that if we were open it was just going to pack this place."
Johnson says he feels a sense of responsibility to keep his staff and customers safe. It's something he started doing back in June at his business and plans on doing for the foreseeable future.
"Most people really do appreciate that we're trying to do the right thing and that it's not political. I wish I could stress that more than anything, it's not political... We've been masked up since June 1st and will probably be masked up till June 1st again."
