We are nearly a month into social distancing, and life in Ripon has already seen some dramatic changes. Instead of Tuesday and Thursday taco nights at Ede’s Mexican restaurant, it’s to go meals taken by masked faces. Local businesses have taken the hardest hit in our new reality. A Ripon High junior Kelly Nguyen spoke on the extra precautions her employers at SheBobas have taken since the state recommended social distancing.

“We’ve always been super sanitary with our conditions, but now we’re especially careful. We just put up a screen in front of the register to limit contact and we just started curbside pickup, which i never imagined we’d be doing,” Nguyen said .

Ripon residents have started to work alongside small businesses trying their best to support them in this time of uncertainty. When asked how service has adapted at Pizza Plus, employee Kylee Dunn, explained her experience.

Sadly not all customers are as gracious towards staff and others they encounter in the community. Jocelyn Muñoz, who works at the Ripon Taqueria, recalled a time when one customer verbally assaulted another.

“I’ve already experienced a man almost ready to physically fight another guy for not being a total of six feet apart. The poor guy was maybe like five feet apart and got yelled for it. It seems more hostile and people’s reactions are over exaggerated for the smallest things,” Muñoz said. 

While practicing social distancing is necessary, our kindness is what keeps our sanity. It is important to step back and understand the precautions that businesses have taken and the driving force behind them: to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“I really feel the community and the spirit of togetherness while working at a small business in Ripon. I feel the support of the people that come in and how they want to help,” Dunn said.