SAN ANTONIO – European Artisan Upholstery is one of thousands of small businesses across the state that had to come to almost a full stop when the executive orders were put in place.
It was a scary time for the upholstery service company, located at the corner of St. Mary’s Street and McCullough Avenue.
Fiona Arecchi, owner of European Artisan Upholstery, said they were only a couple months away from having to close their doors. But once the mask mandate came into a place, they were able to pivot and started manufacturing face masks.
“We had another two months before we were out of business. We’re a small business, we run month-to-month so basically, we were close to going out of business,” Arecchi said.
Now that nonessential businesses can re-open for curbside service, European Artisan Upholstery is preparing to get back to their upholstery business and are preparing to make even more sales.
“Now with curbside, they (the customers) can pull up with their furnishings, they can put it on their sidewalk and we will bring it in and we can talk to them at a safe distance and we can be back in business,” Arecchi said.
The owner said they are eager to get back to work, but they want to make sure they do it in the safest way possible.
“We’re looking forward to when we can re-open safely, but we will not reopen until we are sure the number has stabilized, and everybody is safe. If it’s not safe, we’re not gonna do it," she said.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.
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