After a month, local business Martinez Furniture and Appliance is going back to its regular business hours. CEO of Martinez Furniture and Appliance, Ramon Martinez said that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the store took necessary safety precautions and remained open by limiting staff and store hours.
The family business was never officially closed because the state considered the store an essential business because there was a demand for refrigerators and freezers.
Martinez shares that the store is back to “normal.”
One hundred percent of our employees came back, and everything is back to normal. We are at a hundred percent capacity as far as deliveries.
Martinez explains that even though the store is back to “normal” they are still implementing social distancing and sanitary procedures, such as wearing face masks, gloves, and cleaning the furniture.
Martinez adds that ultraviolet C lights were added to the inside of the store’s air conditioning system.
They installed ultraviolet lights inside our air conditioning system and basically that ultraviolet light kills ninety-nine-point nine percent of any viruses or bacteria that is in the air.
According to Columbia University Center of Radiological Research UVC lights “can penetrate and kill viruses floating in the air, simply because viruses are incredibly small.”
Martinez adds that the reason the store went back to its normal hours is because his employees wanted to help, and the store got help from the government.
My employees, they just wanted to come back and help, and we also got help by the government to comeback and they provided us help for payroll.
Office Manager, Vanessa Ocañas says how she feels going back to work at the store.
I don’t feel worried at all. At first you are scared then you realize how they have accommodated to the store. I don’t feel at risk.
Martinez says he is excited for the future of his employees and store.
Reporter Hector Tamez
