The City’s Guide to Reopening Businesses in Fort Collins

Local business owners are facing new challenges amidst the COVID-19 pandemic as they begin to make delicate decisions about how to safely reopen.

In order to help businesses navigate through these challenges, the City of Fort Collins has established For Fort Collins, a website that provides tools and resources to guide the community into a safe and strong reopening.

"Our goal...is really to partner and help our businesses reopen strong and reopen safe...while still helping our community really generate the revenue it needs to," said SeonAh Kendall, the City of Fort Collins Senior Economic Manager, in our "Tuned In to NoCo" interview. "Ultimately, it [For Fort Collins] will help create consumer confidence as well."

Consumer confidence and safety is key to the reopening, so that businesses are able to come back without public health or financial setbacks.

The City's advice for the consumer is to continue washing your hands, wiping down high-contact surfaces, and practicing social distancing.

Recommendations for businesses include putting up signs detailing their reopening rules, as well as marking their floors in order to encourage proper distancing.

More resources and guidelines for reopening can also be found on NoCo Recovers, the City's other guidebook for economic recovery in NoCo.

While all of these regulations surrounding reopening can seem daunting, City officials are hopeful about Fort Collins' current situation.

"[Business owners are] expressing this sense of community," said Ann Hutchison, the Executive Vice President at the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce. "I think that's been very special. How exciting if we can keep that sense of community going even after we recover from this incredible, impacting downturn. That would be amazing and I'm hopeful."

To learn more about reopening businesses in Fort Collins, listen to the full "Tuned In to NoCo" interview with Ann Hutchison and SeonAh Kendall below.