Paula Lugones
07/15/2020 - 9:42
- Clarín.com
- World
The first thing that strikes at the Aventura Mall in Miami is the parking lot. Usually it is difficult to find a place to leave the car in one of the many parking lots because they are always at the top, full of convertibles and fashionable vehicles. But now, with the coronavirus prowling, it was as simple as parking outside a school doing a holiday.
The Aventura Mall , one of the icons of Miami and the favorite shopping of Argentine tourists, reopened its doors in late May, when the coronavirusit looked like he was left behind in Florida. But in the past two weeks, this state has suffered a fierce stampede of infections and has become one of the world's centers of the pandemic.
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Watch the specialThe Miami-Dade, where is located the Aventura Mall, lit alarms and backtracked some measures (only allowed now eat at restaurants outdoors) and there is a curfew of 10 pm 5 of the morning. But this huge mass of 300 stores, one of the largest shopping centers in the United States, remains open today, although with few customers, amid strong sanitary measures.
It is always pleasant to enter that enclave of air conditioning repair in a city where these weeks the thermal sensation moved in the 39 degrees. Always excited to visit that place where the most expensive and exclusive brands in the world coexist with others more accessible to the pocket and to Argentine taste. Here, in pre-epidemic and cheap dollar times, avid shopping compatriots used to hyperventilate laden with bags full of clothes, iPhones and sneakers. Not anymore .
The first thing you see in the shopping are signs that warn that you must use masks.
Entering the building that spans several blocks is strange these days: the first thing you see are signs that warn you to use masks, keep two meters away and follow the indicated traffic on the floor. Further back is a dispenser with alcohol gel. Next to it there is a kind of "electronic pharmacy" where you enter a few dollars and forgetful people can buy masks or plastic masks to circulate.
It is only later that territory more or less similar to a shopping center appears, although several employees mopping the floor are seen in the corridors (everyone who works here takes their temperature before opening hours). The vast majority of stores are open to customers, with reduced hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and with certain restrictions. Some more refined, such as Cartier, have a sign in the window that warns that it is only served by prior telephone appointment .
The landscape is equally strange because in those corridors tides of tourists who spoke different languages used to travel. Now, in a country where the borders are practically closed, few people are seen, most of whom are residents of the area or Americans from other states who dared to come to this place where the coronavirus is devastating.
Dispenser with alcohol gel.
“For many years, Aventura Mall has been a very popular destination for Argentines who visit South Florida. Of course, the situation has had a significant impact on tourism in the region. We are fortunate to have the support of our strong local market, which includes many former Argentines who now live in South Florida. We continue to carry out all sanitary, national and local guidelines, and we are pleased to offer a variety of outdoor dining options for our guests, ”Clarín was officially told from the mall.
"I had to compare shoes and I came"
Catherine, a woman who lives about 5 kilometers from the mall, comes out of a sports venue with a bag. “I had to buy slippers and I came. You can walk quietly, there are not many people in the corridors, nor in the premises. I don't feel totally safe, but I wanted to take advantage of the offers and I didn't want to buy them online ”, she comments to this post.
The stained glass windows are filled with posters of offers.
The stained glass windows are filled with posters of summer season offers , which in other times would have been a customer locker. But now not everyone can freely enter to buy because businesses have limited capacity.
Entries closed in GAP and other modifications
The Abercrombie and Victoria's Secret stores, for example, admit 40 people at a time because they are quite large. The one with Tag Heuer watches, only 2 . To control entry into large stores, there is a person outside offering gel alcohol and asking customers to line up outside to wait if the place is crowded. The GAP one has several entrances that are closed and you only enter through one of them.
The Abercrombie store accommodates 40 people at a time because it is quite large.
In a shoe store, the saleswoman (she does not want to be identified) tells Clarín that these days sales fell and she calculates 50%. "When we reopened, people started coming. We had good end of season deals. But now that there is a resurgence of cases it seems that she is scared, "she says.
Businesses also had to make certain modifications , not only in customer income. Different doors are used to enter and exit. As in the corridors of the mall, inside the premises there are stickers on the floor that indicate the direction of movement . The use of the testers is prohibited and the boxes have a plastic installed to avoid contact with customers. Most discourage the use of cash.
There are stickers on the floor that indicate the direction of movement.
Upstairs, the food stalls in the food court work, but you cannot eat there (the chairs are above the tables) and you must have lunch or dinner outdoors. There are several refined restaurants that now only cater to tables of no more than 4 diners and outside. At 10 p.m., when the curfew begins, clients must go home.
Covid-19: the key to success
In the middle of this unpublished and quite lonely scenario, there is a business that surprises because it is doing very well. This is a store that was opened a month and a half ago, aptly named Covid19 Essentials, which sells chinstraps of all types and sizes, including some decorated with rhinestones as they can cost $ 120 .
The Covid19 Essentials store sells chinstraps of all types and sizes.
In addition, there are devices to disinfect phones and other objects, as well as gadgets to open doors without touching them with your hand. Saleswoman Emily Ramos says that “we are doing super, great. We sell 250-300 masks per day. " And she highlights that the most requested are those with a valve and carbon filter, of $ 39.
At a time when shopping malls in the world are struggling with online sales and the closure of large stores, the Aventura Mall sought a few years ago to reconvert and added "experiences" for the whole family such as food places, games and a huge slide. But now most of the attractions are closed and limited. The coronavirus is today the new and unexpected reality with which they struggle.
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