Shop in Halesowen welcomes back ‘extended family’
A popular family-run clothing business in Halesowen has welcomed back customers following lockdown.
Dancers is one of many retail stores to reopen its doors after the end of the second national coronavirus lockdown.
Assistant manager Dave Dancer spoke about what it meant to reopen the store, which offers a wide range of clothing.
He said: "It means the world to us to be able to reopen.
"It means being able to see the staff, or the extended family as we like to call them, and let them know there is job security, not just for them, but for us as well.
"It also means a lot for the town centre, which is a big part of the community, so it's just great to be open again."
The store, which has been part of the town since 1884, was able to trade during lockdown through click and collect sales for schoolwear.
Mr Dancer said the work done to upgrade the website during the first lockdown had helped the store to continue trading during a difficult time.
He said that apart from the formal wear section, which has been impacted by restrictions, the shop was ready to welcome in people, with the necessary safety measures in place.
He said: "We've kept it so that it's a maximum of seven people on the shop floor in total, so we will be able to run as we did a month ago.
"What may affect us is with cafes being closed, there won't be as many people out and about, so we might not have the footfall we normally have in town.
"As it's Christmas, that might change as we might get actual Christmas shoppers, but that's hard to judge.
"What we would say to everyone is use the sanitiser stations at the front and wear a mask and we have done everything we can do to make people feel safe."
