North County, and the rest of the country, are working on the reopening and recovery stages of the COVID-19 shutdowns. Many businesses are being forced to pivot operations, bring in new protocols to adhere to cleaning and social distancing, and figure out ways to handle the limited capacity in their storefronts and restaurants. One San Marcos business, Wholesale Shade, is thinking outside the box to provide shade products that are needed as businesses expand outside of their store.
Because of decreased capacity inside the restaurant, parking spaces in the adjacent restaurant parking lots will sit empty. Many cities along the 78 Corridor are allowing restaurants and breweries to offer outdoor seating in the parking lot as a temporary solution to the decreased capacity.
Initial plans from Wholesale Shade on parking lot seating and shade capabilities.
Wholesale Shade, a San Marcos designer and manufacturer of shade structures, has seen this as an opportunity to pivot operations and provide restaurants with temporary shade structures. Where permanent shade structures use heavy concrete footings to support the canopy, these new, temporary shade sails use intricate frames with water tanks providing weight to support the canopy.
Rip Current Brewing, in San Marcos, is able to adhere to social distancing guidelines and provide outdoor space to its patrons thanks to this temporary shade structure.
Restaurants aren’t the only businesses adapting seating areas to meet new safety regulations.
Medical facilities also need to outfit their patient waiting rooms in order to adhere to social distancing. These facilities need to provide waiting areas for patients and will not ask the patients to stand in the hot San Diego sun this summer. Wholesale Shade is currently in talks with these medical facilities to stand up temporary but stable shade structures for their patients.
“I’m doing the exact same thing I have done for years, I’m simply shifting my product in order to provide the market with what it currently needs. My pivot is not in the shade sail I am making; the pivot is from manufacturing permanent shade structures to temporary shade structures,” said Patrick Howe, owner of Wholesale Shade.
As all businesses are forced to shift their strategies and operating procedures to adhere to COVID reopening guidelines, the Innovate78 cities encourage our businesses to complete a self-audit to see if there are updated products or services to offer in this uncharted environment. With minor adaptations, many businesses are able to add something new to their product line using the tools and processes they have at their fingertips.
