SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Economic experts say picking up a cup of your favorite coffee is now a sign of businesses slowly trying to open back up for their customers in San Francisco. 

The sign outside of a Starbucks reads ‘We’re Open.’ This Jackson Street location in San Francisco was among Starbucks cafes throughout the U.S. that closed after shelter-in-place orders went into effect due to the coronavirus. 

Other locations remained opened, however, scaling down to drive-thru service. 

Open doors are a signal that some businesses are trying to find ways to get back to providing service for customers, as well as having their employees get back to earning a living, says San Francisco Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Jay Cheng

“It’s a good sign. I think that businesses right now are struggling with two things. One, how do we keep our employees employed, and if we want to employ workers, we need to bring in income. So businesses have been very creative with maintaining the right shelter-in-place, the right social distancing but doing the work it takes to serve their customers and deliver their products,” Cheng said.

San Francisco based Philz Coffee has also reopened after closing down back March 17, 2020. 

A wave of businesses closed down around the same time, leaving behind scores of boarded up windows and doors locked behind security gates. 

The yellow loading zone on Bryant Street, which typically has no available parking, is empty. Now it is wide open, a reflection of zero traffic on the street. 

Box trucks, made for making deliveries, instead are parked behind a barbed wire fence. 

It is a sign that the overall the U.S. economy remains closed for business, says Cheng.

“We still have a long way to go. We have so many businesses that are still closed. You know the chamber did a flash survey two weeks ago that we asked our members, how much have your sales been impacted, how much have you closed. 47% say they’ve had sales go down 100%, that means their businesses are entirely closed. Another 23% said that their businesses have been down at least 80%, so we’re in a deep, deep economic downturn at this point,”Cheng said.

It is important to note that at this time there is no dine in service at Philz Coffee or Starbucks. 

Customers will have to place mobile pick up orders instead.

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