Helping each other: Lavish Bath Box owner is just one of the inspirations for 'Marion United' event aimed at helping local businesses
MARION - When "Marion United" organizers Jared Gravatt and Joshua Benitone were sparked into action to help their local business community, part of their inspiration came from the closed doors of the many small businesses around Marion's Tower Square Plaza, including those of Lavish Bath Box.
For owner Katie Fowler Hawkins, the Crown Brew Coffee guys are continuing a Marion tradition.
"The benefit event is an incredible opportunity to continue to do what Marion as a community is already so skilled at - supporting each other," she said.
Like Benitone and Gravatt, Hawkins is saddened seeing her business neighbors around the square shut down as well as her own doors closed.
"It's heartbreaking," she said. "The mandatory order has shuttered so many efforts and plans for us as a business this year, but it is a necessary step to mitigate the spread of this virus."
In fact, Hawkins did not need to shut her doors to customers. "As a store that sells personal care products such as shampoo and soap, we are included in the list of essential businesses," she said. "But I found myself questioning at which point does keeping our doors open make us part of the problems instead of part of the solution."
Instead of the usual steady stream of customers milling through the store inhaling the scents of the soaps and other products, Hawkins and her staff are filling orders with curbside pickup and shipped delivery, at least for now. They have also added the in-store inventory to the online catalog and optimized the website to make it easier for customers to shop.
Hawkins said she is lucky that her business model is compatible with conditions of the shutdown, focusing on online subscriptions sales.
"We will adapt however we can to survive no matter how long the shutdown lasts," she said, noting that she has seen a downturn in sales attributed to the effects of the pandemic, like loss of employment.
She also believes that the end of the shutdown won't necessarily be a magic pill for businesses.
"I think we will all be dealing with the fallout of this for many months after the order is lifted," she said. "For most small businesses this won't be a six- or eight-week problem to overcome. It is going to take time before we find ourselves back in the place we were before this started."
Hawkins is looking forward to the "Marion United" event that will livestream from the Marion Cultural and Civic Center Facebook page beginning at 6 p.m., giving people a chance to help one another.
"Our city leaders, customers, friends, and fellow business owner have really rallied together," she said. "It's quite incredible to see. It's definitely a proud bright spot in such a dark, uncertain, and strange time."