On shutdown anniversary, C.O. businesses say some changes will be permanent

(Update: adding video, new information, comments from Tower Theatre & Stabilization Center)

One example: Tower Theatre will supplement stage performances with livestreamed shows

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Tuesday marks the one year anniversary since the COVID-19 pandemic shook up the world as we knew it, here on the High Desert and ground the globe.

Like others both near and far, some Central Oregon people and organizations have learned that some of the changed the needed to implement will become a part of their operation for years to come.

"It has been a challenge for all of us,” said Melissa Thompson, the crisis team supervisor at the Deschutes County Stabilization Center.

The facility opened in June, to help anyone going through a mental health crisis. In just nine months, they've seen more than 1,100 people and 100 children. Some of them have cited the pandemic as one of the reasons for seeking help.

"It is definitely a prevalent theme that we hear regularly,” Thompson told NewsChannel 21.

The pandemic has affected the staff's work, too. Follow-up therapy sessions are done almost exclusively online, making it hard for them to connect with clients, at a time when their job is as crucial as ever.

“Meeting with folks face to face, which oftentimes is really the most effective way to help someone, has been limited,” she said.

Still, their presence has been felt. At one point, the Stabilization Center was the only county building open.

"We've had at least 10 people say that if we weren't open, they would have ended their life that day,” Thompson said.

There have been nearly 8,900 cases of COVID-19 to date in Central Oregon, and 116 people have died with the virus.

It’s no question these are trying times -- trying because this past year has been incredibly difficult, and trying because people have experimented with new ways to stay in business.

That stands true for the folks at the Stabilization Center, as well as for Ray Solley, executive director of the Tower Theatre in downtown Bend.

Solley said, “We were the first people to close and to take the hit. We will probably be among the last people to get to a sense of, 'Oh, this is similar to the way it was in 2019."

Solley said the Tower Theatre typically welcomes 65,000 people and hosts 220 events a year. Before the pandemic, they were on pace for their most successful year ever.

Since the shutdown, those numbers have dropped by nearly 80%, causing the theatre to lose about $800,000 in revenue.

"When the rule comes down that you can't be indoors with large gatherings of people, that is the definition of theater and of live performances,” Solley told NewsChannel 21.

So as part of the creative community, they decided to get, well, creative.

For the first time, they began offering livestreams of local and international performances, exposing the public to new shows that would never have existed in Central Oregon.

"We kept saying that although we may be closed, we're not dark,” Solley said.

Even after the pandemic ends, Solley said they'll continue to use livestreams as a way to enhance the audience experience, with behind-the-scenes content before and after shows.

Other permanent changes will include digital playbills and menus, showing that, in some cases, the new normal is exactly that - the new normal.

"Blend some of those things that are new to us, because of protocols and pandemic, with what we used to do,” Solley said.

Other businesses can say the same.

Wild Rose, a Thai restaurant in downtown Bend, will continue its curbside pickup service, as long as the city allows it. Owner Rosie Westlund told NewsChannel 21 they're also launching a new online ordering and reservation system.

Two different industries, both trying – trying to endure the pain of a pandemic, and trying out new features that may have never made an appearance before, but they'll now stick with for the long term.