LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Just four years ago, Saint Patrick's Day celebrations looked a lot different.
On March 17, 2020, then Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered all non-essential businesses to close statewide to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“Nobody’s on the Strip. There was nobody, there was nothing. Was that shocking to see? Yeah, it was," said 12-year Las Vegas resident Alma Escorcia.
Escorcia said she lost her job as a bus driver shortly after the pandemic began.
“I was literally out, I was practically unemployed, so I had to do the resource for the unemployment," Escorcia said.
The order impacted many small businesses across the Las Vegas Valley, including Uptown Hair Studio in Summerlin.
“It was scary and sudden and it was like oh my gosh what just happened," said Uptown Hair Studio owner Birgit Velasquez.
Velasquez tells Channel 13 even when they were allowed to re-open, customers came in waves and her business did not return back to normal for nearly two years.
"You know at first people were like I want to get my hair done again, and then it fell off. The first months people were storming the salon, then it fell off for a good six months," Velasquez said.
Uptown Hair Studio is one of 33 businesses housed in the Sola Salons storefront in Summerlin.
Each business has their separate workspace, but Velasquez said managing COVID-19 restrictions with the other businesses, plus keeping her work space in compliance, was a nightmare.
“It was high anxiety. I mean, cleaning up immensely between every client, we know our sanitary procedures on a normal day, and it was times a million basically," Velasquez said.
While it may be four years later since the start of the pandemic, some business owners say they still see some of the impacts to this day.
