Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic has hit Hingham, local businesses have been taking measures to continue serving the community while also ensuring the safety of both their employees and customers. 

While some local businesses have shut down temporarily, others have simply adjusted to the new atmosphere. One of the main types of businesses that have had to take extra precautions is food establishments. Hingham is home to several beloved restaurants and shops, but because of the pandemic, they have had to modify their ways of serving food. 

Nona’s Homemade located downtown was one of the first eateries to adapt to life with the virus.

Sophomore Mila Ranocha reported, “Nona’s has only been doing takeout and curbside pick-up, but they still have a lot of business.” Other downtown food establishments like Redeye Roasters, Caffe Tosca, and Liberty Grille have also resorted to similar ways of selling food. For more information on which local restaurants are open for safe and accessible takeout/carry-out, check out Harborlight’s Guide For Take Out During COVID-19!

Ranocha, who has worked at the ice cream shop for over two years, explained that she has not worked at Nona’s for a while now as the shop has been “limiting the number of workers” as a COVID-19 precaution.

Junior Nathan Lavoie who works at Atlantic Bagel located in Hingham Center explained that the bagel shop has also reduced the number of employees who work the same shifts. He shared, “The number of customers has dropped to the point where we are only doing 30% of the usual 100% we do on a daily basis. From Monday to Friday, it’s so dead that only the manager Ed Brunoili and the assistant manager Tiffany Jeane have to work.” He then explained how other employees get to work on Saturdays and Sundays.

Lavoie added, “Atlantic Bagel is starting to get a little busy again with the nice weather coming out, but Atlantic’s business is still trying to survive during this pandemic.”

Other types of businesses such as South Shore Select, the youth soccer club based out of Hingham, are also trying to “survive,” and have made accommodations to keep things as normal as they can. Typically the spring soccer season is scheduled with practices, games, tournaments, and more, but in order to keep players, coaches, and parents safe, the club has canceled the season. To keep the program running, the club has turned to video technology to stay in touch with players.

Sophomore Cara Chiappinelli described the current situation with her club team: “Because the spring season has been canceled, South Shore Select has been throwing practices over ZOOM. They also offer courses and invite guest speakers to talk–all over ZOOM.”

Creek Crossing Farm has also had to adjust to life with COVID-19, but because of the additional factor of animal care, the farm could not rely on video chat services like ZOOM.

Sophomore Delaney Coppola who works at the farm explained, “Initially, there had been a few essential workers and the manager to feed and care for the horses. Once it was safer, the manager set up time slots for owners and riders to sign up so everyone could safely ride without being crowded.”

Other businesses like Susanne Malloy Photography, unfortunately, could not continue regular business due to the nature of the occupation. With Malloy’s business relying on human interaction, it made work too unsafe to continue hosting photoshoots.

Malloy explained, “It was hard to have all work stop so abruptly, but I’m looking forward to resuming outdoor photoshoots this summer.”

Mark Boles of downtown’s Intrinsic Revisions also had to pause his business due to the virus. He revealed, “Fortunately for us, Intrinsic Provisions was in an okay place financially and hadn’t taken on a bulk of new inventory, so we weren’t sitting on inventory we couldn’t sell with open invoices.”

Like Susanne Malloy Photography, Intrinsic Revisions is excited to reopen soon. Boles added, “Now we’re able to take a much more cautious approach with how we re-enter the marketplace and are also oddly well poised for growth. We’ve without a doubt lost money, but now we’re presented with some opportunities we probably wouldn’t have otherwise had if things had been status quo.”

The optimistic attitudes of business owners like Malloy and Boles combined with the unfaltering dedication of their customers keep Hingham’s favorite local businesses alive. While the recent circumstances have proven difficult to adapt to, numerous local businesses have been persisting in their own ways to continue to serve the Hingham community. Whether COVID-19’s effect has resulted in temporary closure or unique modifications, Hingham’s local businesses’ creativity and resilience deserve much applause.