BEAUMONT, Texas — Hair and nails salons were given the green light to reopen from Gov. Greg Abbott. The news was a shock to some.
Rochelle Jeane owns Strands Hair Spa and Boutique in Port Neches.
"We were not expecting it all, we were hoping to be back on the 18th, but when we found out the 8th, we were like wow, so we knew that we had a lot of work to do," Jeane said.
Friday, Rochelle's Hair Salon will reopen for the first time in over a month, but with strict rules. It'll be an adjustment that she says is worth it.
"I'll be happy to do whatever we need to do to keep all of our clients safe and have the customers feel very comfortable to come in," Jeane said.
There can only be one customer inside per stylist, each stylist must be six feet apart. Face masks are recommended.
"We're actually not even gonna take money, cash or checks, we're gonna do a way where we don't have to touch anything, we're setting up some non-touching ways of payment," Jeane said.
Even with all the precautions in place, some leaders feel it's still too soon to start reopening.
Thursday, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said we're not out of the woods yet, and continued to encourage his residents to remain cautious.
"As mayor of the city of Port Arthur, I strongly oppose the opening of these facilities," Bartie said. "Some owners and even some operators have expressed that they will not open on tomorrow because of the uncertainty of the pandemic."
Salon owners like Rochelle believe they're well prepared to reopen safely.
"We are trying to do what we can to keep everyone safe and I know everyone's been ready to get back to normal, but we'll do what we can to keep everyone safe for sure," Jeane said.