Tupelo Businesses Hold Strong Against the Pandemic

Multimedia Package Produced By: Shelby Maynor

Danvers, in Tupelo, MS, is a local restaurant that has been in the community for over 4o years. The restaurant is available for inside dining. They have even reopened their salad bar, though it must be made by an attendant.

Tupelo, MS — Tupelo’s constant economic growth is met with the challenges the Coronavirus Pandemic has brought onto the local retail stores, restaurants, and public spaces.

The cycle of the actions taken to counteract the pandemic through mandates from the Mississippi government have lead to a cycle in business sales around the City of Tupelo.

“When we had to close the lobby, business slowed down. But then they opened it back up and it only took a couple weeks for it to get busier, and even busier than before,” said Khushi Patel of Scarlet’s Donuts.

Tate Reeves has ordered several different mandates over the past months in order to help slow the spread of the virus, according to MS.gov. Each change has lead to a direct effect on businesses all over the state, especially businesses in Tupelo.

Strange Brew is another local business that had direct changes in sales because of the virus mandates. Their drive through has been busier than ever since they had to close their lobby and has remained the same even after the mandate was lifted, according to Madi Moore a worker at Strange Brew.

Businesses are seeing an influx in their drive-throughs because it allows consumers to still be able to enjoy eating out or shopping. The influx is also because some people do not want to follow the mandates or simply do not know what the mandates currently are.

Barnes Crossing Nutrition and other loaded tea establishments have also seen an increase in sales since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Taylor Moore who works there. The main reason their products increased in popularity is because they are marketed to be healthy and good for the immune system.

Downtown crowds have changed as well during the pandemic. In a once, ever-busy part of town, there is relatively barely any activity.

Downtown Tupelo is the hub for all things business in Tupelo. The restaurants and sidewalks are usually covered with businessmen and women on lunch, which would later turned to dinner crowds. Now small groups are the most usual to see.

Reed’s, a retail store downtown, has recently seen an increase in sales as the mandates were lifted and as the holiday’s approach. Maggie Gunnels, a gift-wrapper at Reed’s, says they still encourage masks in their store even though they are not required.

Tupelo has been building itself for over 150 years, and increasingly so in the past few years. The Coronavirus has brought great adversity, but local businesses are reacting to all of the obstacles thrown their way.