Under phase one, shopping malls will be allowed to reopen beginning Monday. Governor Edwards made an announcement on Thursday that would change his executive order, allowing retailers to open with 25 percent capacity and other restrictions.
"Lisa texted, the mall is going to be open," said store owner Buddie Lee Gay.
Northgate Mall Manager, Lisa Champagne, sent a statement out, encouraging its store owners to reopen Monday, keeping in mind new safety guidelines. These are all safety measures that the staff at Home Sweet Home are already putting in place.
"We're going to have the 6-foot social distancing. We're going to have flexi glass up, so our girls are protected. With the fire marshal's rules, we'll be cleaning things all the time."
There's a bit of pressure because all store owners at Northgate were expecting to have to make business plans using curbside until they were notified late Thursday night.
"So that was exciting because it was just completely reversed. But all the little things we've been doing for the past weeks to get ready, all of a sudden, we had to get them done in three days."
With Acadiana mall under the same pressure, management says they're following proper procedures and protocols before reopening. When it comes to reopening on Monday, general manager Nikki Nugier released a statement saying in part, "We are currently waiting on a few last approvals prior to reopening, and we'll happily share that news of our reopening as soon as that day comes."
Although Lafayette Mayor -President Josh Guillory says both malls will reopen, Nugier says they are still pending approval from the state fire marshal.
