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5 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,D ecem ber 17,2020 theifp.ca The reliable choice for all of your legal needs Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday season from A Full Service Firm, Including Family Law, Employment, Real Estate, Corporate Law, Wills & Estates, Estate Litigation and Civil Litigation. Empowering Clients. Enriching the Community. GEORGETOWN 8 Guelph Street | 905.452.7400 Brampton Office (Main) 350 Rutherford Road S., Suite 320 | 905.452.7400 CALEDON EAST 15955 Airport Road, Suite 201 | 905.584.4545 www.lhlaw.ca OFFICE LOCATIONS Proud member of Proud Supporter of the Georgetown Hospital cation in the downtown core will shut down. "Right now, I'm basical- ly working offsite to pay for my bricks and mortar," she said. "If I knew there was an end (to the pandemic re- strictions), I would just hang in there. Unfortu- nately we have to close up, but we're still sticking around online." Warden first stopped in- store shopping, art classes and birthday parties when the pandemic began in March, but was able to open her exterior ice cream window in the sum- mer to serve up treats in a COVID-19-safe manner. She's also been busy mi- grating Artsy Phartsy's business online and is now offering a variety of local- ly-sourced products and holiday gift boxes for deliv- ery or curbside pickup. "Everyone has taken re- ally well to our online shopping. It's been pretty great actually," she said. The local entrepreneur is hoping to start serving up ice cream and coffee again in the spring out of an actual trailer this time, versus her store side win- dow that was painted to look like one. Its location is to be determined. In the meantime, she's hoping local residents will throw their support behind small businesses this holi- day season -- and beyond. "A lot of us are basically floating by right now," she said. "Christmas is our thing. It's make or break this season for a lot of small-time shops." Frazer said she knows some people are doing their best to shop locally, noting the Acton and Georgetown BIAs are doing a great job bolstering the downtown businesses. "But the flip side is a lot of people are still very un- certain about even going in a store at this point," she said. "We're trying to en- courage stores to develop an ecommerce model for online shopping or order- ing, and curbside pickup." While some people may gravitate to the online shopping giants like Ama- zon, or big box stores such as Walmart, Frazer noted they're not the ones that need the extra support right now. "They do employ a lot of people, so they're very im- portant to our local econo- my, but they will still be here after this (pandemic)," she said. "It's those small store- front businesses or the peo- ple based out of their homes -- those are the businesses that our local community relies on when they're fundraising or want their baseball team sponsored. They're crucial, and if we don't think of them first, they may not be here next year." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As pandemic restrictions continue to have widespread impact, we wanted to take a closer look at how local small businesses are faring this holiday season and be- yond. NEWS Continued from page 1 ONLINE SALES KEEPING MANY BUSINESSES GOING Businesses in downtown Georgetown are feeling the devastating impact of COVID-19. Graham Paine/Metroland "A lot of us are basically floating by right now. Christmas is our thing. It's make or break this season for a lot of small-time shops." - Amanda Warden