SAN DIEGO — Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley reopened their doors on Saturday morning after 94 days.
The upscale outdoor mall is the first major shopping center in San Diego to open after the county approved a plan that would allow dine-in restaurants and retail to open with modifications.
General Manager of Fashion Valley, Bob Doherty said, “It’s great that we’re able to see business and activities reopen so San Diego residents have an opportunity to do things we were able to do prior to the pandemic.”
Doherty went on to say, “We designed a set of guidelines designed to protect the employees, the tenants and the shoppers.”
Like many places that attract large groups of people, Fashion Valley has been experimenting with how to best keep shoppers safe. More hand sanitizer stations, separating tables to a safe distance and keeping tabs on the number of people in the mall at one time are just some of the things that are being done.
Doherty told News 8 that the requirement is one person per 50 square feet of space.
However, the mall is not requiring people to wear a face-covering when they enter, although it is strongly encouraged by the management. Doherty said that masks will be available at the mall management office.
Mall staff has been trained on extra protocols during these early days of reopening, including extra sanitation of high traffic areas.
“Every night things will be thoroughly sanitized and disinfected. That’s why we’ve changed our business hours to 11-7 Monday through Saturday 12-6 on Sundays to allow for the sanitizing processes,” said Doherty.
In addition to all the social distancing guidelines the management asks that you check which stores are open before you come down.