On Monday, The Silver Parrot opened its doors after three months of being closed. The jeweler at 113 King Street is now open seven days a week, has updated its website for online sales — but the staff is a little concerned about the closing off of vehicular traffic on their block.
“It’s nice to be around people again,” store manager Megan Vail told ALXnow. “I live on my own, so it was like three months of talking to myself and my cats.”
The Silver Parrot is an Old Town staple that’s been around for nearly four decades. Vail and the company’s six full and part time staffers were temporarily laid off until late April when its Paycheck Protection Program loan went through.
In the meantime, Vail sold jewelry online for the shop with Facebook Live videos.
“I joked about it being my audition for the home shopping network,” she said.
Virtual shopping session! If you have any questions or things you’d like to see, let us know below!
Posted by Silver Parrot on Thursday, May 14, 2020
The pedestrian plaza that’s been opened by shutting down vehicular traffic on lower King Street has also been problematic so far for the small jewelry shop, which Vail said can get lost in the shuffle.
“One of the things that we discussed with the city and that we’ve expressed frustration with was that in the plan to close down the block to cars, we wanted to make sure that the available walkway for people was where the sidewalk currently is,” she said. “Now the sidewalk is in the street.”
The shop carries silver jewelry from around the world, ranging in price from $20 for silver earrings to $3,200 for intricate necklaces inlaid with colorful stones.
“We have something for every style, every age, every price, every occasion,” said shop bookkeeper Janet Cowley. “And we’re just one store. We’re not a chain and we’re not expanding into malls.”
The Silver Parrot is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. For the time being, only four customers are allowed in the shop at a time, and all customers must wear face masks.
We are officially open!A few notes on our changes:-We are limited to 4 customers at a time. -Face masks ARE required…
Posted by Silver Parrot on Monday, June 15, 2020
Staff photos by James Cullum
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