Pine Centre Mall welcoming back shoppers as stores re-open

The retail sector in Prince George is slowly coming back to life during Phase 2 of the BC Restart Plan.

Most stores at the Pine Centre Mall have re-opened to the public after being closed for a couple of months.

Marketing Director, Jessica Brown told MyPGNow.com it was an odd feeling working in an empty mall.

“It’s definitely different, especially when we are kind of a border-line community centre with the clubs and activities that we offer so it wasn’t just the tenants being closed but also missing a lot of our shoppers, we’ve got a significant amount of folks who come here every day.”

Now for those stores that didn’t re-open right away, Brown believes they should be feeling no pressure to resume operations until it’s safe to do so.

“It is an unprecedented time and things are still changing day to day with minor changes here and there so we do need to make sure that when they do open up they are feeling as confident as possible so they can do right the first time.”

As for whether or not employees will wear personal protective equipment while working, Brown states that decision will be made by the store managers.

“It really depends on how the tenant communicates with staff and what their safety and personal protective equipment expectations are.”

Brown further explained how physical distancing and the amount of foot traffic will be monitored during the pandemic.

“We’re very fortunate in a way since we have really big hallways and what we’ve done is to have security monitor the foot traffic in the mall as well as the directional signage on the floors to prevent any customers from crossing the lines of foot traffic and to maintain at least six feet apart.”

She adds the food court remains closed at the moment but once vendors restart, shoppers will notice fewer seats inside.

Mall personnel is asking guests to leave seats available for those wanting to eat their meal.

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