TYLER, Texas — We are quickly approaching the one-year mark since COVID-19 first appeared in East Texas.
Since then, the virus has taken so much including livelihoods and businesses.
Swann’s Furniture and Design says they’ve been in business since 1895 and are still going strong. But for businesses across the parking lot, it's lights out.
Scott Martinez with the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce explains why.
"Looking at business closures, we saw a lot of the service sector industries falter because of the constraints that were put on them to deal with COVID-19 and maintain public safety and public health," he said.
He also says that during the pandemic, restaurants have suffered the most with limited capacity, limited hours and in turn, limited sales.
Meanwhile, furniture stores like Swann's have been booming with business. Martinez speculates this is because people have been spending more time at home and want to be comfortable.
Swann's furniture owner, Franklin Swann, says it breaks his heart to see any of his neighboring businesses close down.
Things haven’t been easy for him either, he says the pandemic has been one of the hardest things they’ve been through. But after facing more than one hundred years worth of challenges, they’ll push through this one too.
“There's been a continuum if you will, of business closures and business openings, regardless of a pandemic or recession," Martinez said.
There are about 2,000 businesses currently registered with the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and that number is on the rise.
Businesses in Tyler have also evolved a lot in the past 30 years. The Chamber says that the city that used to be very dependent on energy and gas has grown to become the healthcare, education and retail capital of East Texas.
