CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wells Fargo will soon welcome back more employees to its Uptown towers, bringing hope for businesses who've waited years for the pandemic milestone.
In a memo to employees on Wednesday, Wells Fargo Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell said those in customer-facing roles, employees in enterprise functions and line of business support roles and technology will return to a hybrid work model on March 14.
It comes after the company had to delay their back to in-person work plans four times throughout the everchanging pandemic.
Unvaccinated workers will have to wear masks while at work and follow the company's testing requirements.
All fully vaccinated employees working in enterprise functions and business line support roles in these groups may return to their workspaces voluntarily starting on Feb. 9, according to the letter.
The memo also stated employees can travel for work again and visit clients.
"This is a significant moment for us as we implement our new hybrid flexible work model for certain roles, which emphasizes spending time together in the office and introduces hybrid work options for employees in most jobs," Powell said, in part, in the memo.
It's promising news for businesses that have somehow found a way to survive an Uptown with far fewer workers who frequent restaurants and shops.
"All the restaurants have been hurting," Johnny Bitter, owner of Johnny Burrito in the bottom of Two Wells Fargo Center in Uptown, said. "I tell you probably half of them have closed."
Before the pandemic, Uptown workers would stand in a long line running out of his restaurant to buy one of his famous burritos.
However, business has been slow since the start of the pandemic, coming in waves through the ups and downs of a COVID-world.
"October, November, December -- we started to pick back up again. We were maybe down 40%," he explained. "Omicron and January hit and we're back down."
He's now anxiously awaiting March in hopes of seeing many more familiar faces as they return to the office.
"If downtown can at least just get back to 50% capacity Monday through Friday -- I'll think we'll all be doing a lot better," he said.
It's relief he can nearly taste as he holds on another month in the pandemic.
"We're ready to serve you and we're happy to have you back," Bitter said with excitement.
Contact Hunter Sáenz at hsaenz@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.