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Joe's Hardware serves Fallbrook throughout the pandemic

When the restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic were first put in place, businesses had to make adjustments to continue providing their service to the public. In Fallbrook, one of these businesses was Joe's Hardware.

Joe DeRoest opened Joe's Hardware in 2005, and the company has been serving the people of Fallbrook ever since. However, when the pandemic hit, Joe's Hardware was forced to adapt quickly to the new changes. Some changes they made include having to reduce their business hours during the first wave, closing on Sundays and making sure they had someone designated to cleaning the baskets and carts after every use.

The assistant manager, Kevin Sotelo, said that one of the hardest adjustments was losing many workers at the beginning of the pandemic because they were at high risk of contracting the virus. "We were so busy. We had more customers than we had employees," he said.

Not only that, management noticed that some customers had trouble remembering to wear their masks inside the store. This problem added even more pressure to the manager and assistant managers. Sotelo said, "Management had to police the mask issue, we weren't allowed to let anyone in that wasn't wearing a mask."

Another problem they had was getting their supplies from the manufacturers. During the first wave, Sotelo said that many supply chains ran out of many select products, including name brand cleaning supplies, but luckily the supply chains provided generic alternatives.

Now that they've had time to adjust, Sotelo said that things are slowly starting to go back to normal, and he's thankful to have all the employees back at work again. "It's gotten easier now that we have everyone back," he said.

One thing he has noticed since the pandemic started is that people have been buying more garden supplies and home renovation supplies. "Everyone is more motivated to work on their homes and gardens; they've been buying many seeds to grow their own food, soil, mulch, and anything they need to work around their homes," he said, "And they've been buying lots of cleaning supplies too!"

Sotelo also expressed his gratitude to DeRoest for his involvement in the day to day activities when the pandemic hit. Soteleo said, "We were short handed, and he really stepped up to help us."

Since DeRoest and his wife were more active at the store during business hours, Sotelo said that having them around was a great boost in morale for the employees. They were struggling without all of the workers, but having the owners around really helped keep them positive and motivated. Sotelo said, "It was great to have them around all the customers, they're the face of the business."

Sotelo hopes that this experience will help Joe's Hardware acquire a new variety of diverse clientele. Joe's Hardware stayed open and served the public during the pandemic, and Sotelo hopes that the residents of Fallbrook continue to make use of everything the store has to offer them. "We're here, we're local, and we're ready to help our neighbors."

 

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