TEGA CAY, S.C. — Another round of businesses were allowed to reopen in South Carolina this week, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.
The latest list includes zoos, museums, and amusement parks. The biggest amusement park in the Charlotte area, Carowinds, remains closed. However, other places are reopening attractions for the first time in weeks.
WCNC Charlotte talked to customers at Mr. Putty’s Fun Park in Tega Cay who were glad to get out of the house. However, it has not completely returned to normal; some customers including a mom and her daughter were wearing masks as a precaution.
“We’re making it a mommy daughter day,” said customer, Mary Alina Shipley who visited the amusement park with her daughter, Macayla. “Before we left today, I said ‘Do you have your mask?’ And we had to make sure we had them.”
The owner of Mr. Putty’s Fun Park, Rob Casatelli, says he’s glad to have customers back to the park, but it’s not business as usual.
“We are staying on our toes, with our cleaning processes and our sanitations, and the hygiene of our employees, I think some of the things we are doing are going to stick around indefinitely,” said Casatelli.
Mr. Putty’s reopened miniature golf on May 1 and is now taking another big step forward with the other attractions.
"I’m hopeful that we can all slowly get back into the mix,” said Shipley.
Casatelli says he’s going to see how business does this weekend and that will partly determine how much hiring they do moving forward.