Longtime businesses at West Bloomfield's The Boardwalk reopen with safety in mind

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - It's called The Boardwalk - a strip mall on Orchard Lake in West Bloomfield, home to several family businesses that have been there for decades.

"It's been my dad's business for 36 years - and now my mom and I also work with him - which is nice," said Jessica Friedman of Hersh's Boutique. 

FOX 2: "How long have you been here in this location?"

"I've been 35 years," said Rob Wolk.

"Ruby's Balm has been here since September of 2000 - and I have been the owner since February of 2014," said Jillian Berger.

Ruby's Balm with it's fun gifts for women, Sundance Shoes with so much to choose from - and Hersh's High End women's clothing - all starting to re-open.

"We've done curbside pickup the last week or two - we've done deliveries - we've mailed stuff out and now we're taking appointments," said Berger.

"We're taking all the necessary precautions for the public and for us to be safe and that's the most important thing," said Wolk.

"Our customers can now set up an hour appointment with one of us to have the store my themselves and we're showing them everything that we have," said Friedman.

Think of it as a personalized shopping experience - a very clean one - with social distance and safety top of mind.

Not only are they constantly cleaning and sanitizing and seeing customers by appointment only - they're also requiring that all of them wear a mask - inside the store.

"We've got a stand at the front door for hand sanitizer - so upon entry we are asking our customers to please sanitize their hands and also masks are mandatory in our store and they must cover the nose and the mouth," said Berger.

Retailers say they're cleaning everything - hours will be limited at first - and they're using Instagram and other social media more than ever.

They are grateful to their loyal customers and say after decades on The Boardwalk - they're not about to walk away.

"This whole time we're all supporting each other," Friedman said. "We've been bouncing ideas off each other and trying to figure out - how to really keep these businesses alive."

"We're just doing anything and everything - and if it works - great - if not - we're going to come up with another way," Berger said.

"You know we've got a great support system - not only from all the stores here but also from all of our loyal customers," Friedman said.

"We're going to make it - we're going to be fine - in fact we'll be stronger," Wolk said. "It's not the end it's the beginning.”