Dear Visitors and Residents Patronizing Mathews,
First and foremost, we want to say THANK YOU.
Thank you for supporting local when you could. In this dark time for the economy, thank you for reminding our small business owners why they shouldn’t quit. Thank you for going out of the way to purchase local when you could have gone to a big box store. Thank you for adapting while we did. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for being there for us.
To all of the workers at the grocery stores, hardware stores, postal service, gardening centers, contractors, auto shops, supplies stores and health industries, thank you for staying open, and serving your people. Thank you to our bankers for providing us support and a life line when our income faltered. Thank you teachers for reacting quickly to the hurdles of online learning and being a reliable role model for our youth. Thank you to our local government for overcoming the challenges of technology and virtual leadership to serve our community at its most vulnerable hour. Thank you to the restaurants for trying out new business models they haven’t before. Thank you to the retail stores for adapting online, and showing us how virtual shopping is more fun than we could have expected. Thank you to the farmers and fishermen for working hard to supply fresh food. Thank you to those businesses like hairdressers, lodging, florists, and pet care spaces for staying patient and strong while we couldn’t visit, but were ready for us when we could. Thank you essential workers.
This journey is not over yet. And there are many months ahead of us until we get to see glimpses of what life was like before the coronavirus. Which is why we are writing this open letter to you:
Please continue to support local and help us keep going. Please continue to have patience with us. Please continue to adapt with us and understand that we are learning, and modifying, and changing sometimes every day. Please know that some of the protocols that we adopt are out of our control. Please know that there are practices in our new operations that will make us feel uncomfortable, or more comfortable to serve you at this time. Please understand that a higher competition for supplies might change up our menu or merchandise. Please be sensitive that we may have taken on new debts or gone great lengths to get to where we are today. Please know that we are in this together, and we are trying our best to not only serve you, but also keep our business afloat. Please know that at the end of all of this, we want to be stronger as a team, and proud of how we overcame these really difficult times…
Because this hasn’t been easy, but you’ve helped make it better.
