BOCA RATON, Fla. – As businesses begin to reopen in Palm Beach County, the Boca Town Center Mall has joined in.
There are fewer than 20 stores actually open inside the mall, and Local 10 News' Ian Margol didn’t see many people there.
It appears even though the mall has reopened, not everyone is comfortable coming back yet.
"It wasn’t that many people," said shopper Karl Guillaume. "Everybody was keeping six feet, as required. I looked up online and they said it was like 25% people, maximum."
At 11 a.m. Wednesday the mall reopened its doors for the first time since it shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Several people were seen walking in and out of the mall wearing masks, but the parking lots and hallways were much emptier than normal.
"There was no one there, really very few people," said shopper Lois Cohen. "It was a very weird feeling."
According to the mall's website, only 17 shops and restaurants were open; out of about 200 that normally operate there.
"We just came from lunch," said AJ Strauss. "We sat down, went to Hooters, had some lunch. For the first time in two months, sat down in a restaurant. It was nice."
Signs outside of the mall detail some of the things they’re doing to keep people safe.
That includes enhanced cleaning and sanitizing of high-touch areas like credit card machines, reducing the number of people actually allowed inside at a time, putting out dividers and signs to remind people to social distance, and encouraging shoppers to wear masks.
The number of stores that open at the mall is expected to slowly rise as the state continues to reopen.