CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Small businesses and retailers in Greater Cleveland are accustomed to challenges, from competing with big-box stores to the ups and downs of supply and demand. But local shopkeepers and business owners say Gov. Mike DeWine’s order closing non-essential businesses starting at midnight tonight is something different altogether, and will pose a threat to their future if it stays in effect for more than a few weeks.

Cassandra Fear, owner of Fear’s Confections, a small chocolatier based in Lakewood, is confident that her business can survive a few weeks of temporary closure. But she has seen news reports in which scientists recommend much longer periods of isolation, and that has her worried.

“Everyone has conflicting reports," she says. "If it’s 18 months, we’re dead in the water. I don’t have rent for 18 months; if that happens, I can’t pay my bills.”

DeWine’s order is in effect until at least April 6, when it will be re-assessed. It exempts essential businesses, including grocery stores, hardware stores, takeout restaurants and pet stores. But that still leaves hundreds of small businesses being forced to shut down, including book stores, specialty boutiques, plant stores and record shops.

Fear’s business falls into a gray area of DeWine’s order. She could stay open as a food business and continue with takeout or delivery services. But she closed her space on Sunday anyway. She and a small staff will work until Monday night to fulfill 60 existing online orders, then close.

“We’re kind of a restaurant, kind of a retail establishment, but we’re not essential,” said Fear. “It’s a weird area. Chocolate is not essential food, and I’d rather people wait until we open back up, rather than endanger themselves adding us as another spot that they need to be outside the house for.”

Other business owners want to do their part, too. But with rents coming due April 1 and other bills piling up, worry about surviving with no income is a common theme.

“Everyone is worried about what’s going on. I don’t know if I can pay my rent and I sure can’t afford to pay myself right now,” said Candra Squire, the owner of Salty Not Sweet, a boutique located in Ohio City.

Squire recently launched a line of sticker sales on Facebook that she’s been shipping out for $6, to help make ends meet. She said that everything on Salty Not Sweet’s Instagram page is also for sale, with delivery options.

Other local boutiques, like Room Service, shut down its shops a week ago in advance of DeWine’s announcement. Room Service co-owner Jennie Doran said she decided to close the store, which has two locations in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood and Shaker Heights’ Van Aken District, for the safety of her staff and the community.

Room Service has highlighted a selection of bath and beauty products on its social media and website for shipment. But the store gets most of its customers through foot traffic, and has seen a steep decrease in business.

“Foot traffic is not happening right now -- and it should not be happening. For safety’s sake, our traffic is down. We rely on people coming to see us and they’re not coming to see us because that’s what’s right for the community,” Doran said. “We’re small enough to pivot. We’re passionate enough to do it well.”

Other retailers, including local record stores, are focusing on updating their online shops with new inventory. Blue Arrow Records, in Cleveland’s Waterloo neighborhood, offers items for sale on Discogs, Etsy and its own website.

Sales have been slower than usual, Blue Arrow co-owner Pete Gulyas said.

“Browsing through the bins of a record store is not a priority at this time,” Gulyas said. “Music is an integral part of many peoples’ mental health. It helps to soothe many peoples’ anxieties on a never-ending basis. Hopefully, Blue Arrow Records will continue to provide that kind of service when all of this subsides.”

Online stores provide at least one option for businesses that are capable of operating under DeWine’s statement. DeWine’s order states that some nonessential businesses can continue, as long as employees work at their own homes.

The order also clarified that nonessential businesses can continue to conduct minimum necessary activities -- things like preserving a business’s physical space, ensuring security, processing payroll and employee benefits, facilitating remote work and maintaining inventory.

For Urban Planting Cleveland, “maintaining inventory” translates to “keeping inventory alive.” Elio Calabrese, the owner of the shop, will continue to care for the store’s wide selection of tropical plants while the stay-at-home order is in effect. He closed the store on March 16, well ahead of DeWine’s order, deciding it was the best move for his customers’ health. Before closing, Calabrese said his shop had been receiving tons of community support.

“At least with what we sell, I think a lot of it has to do with plants calming people. That was a bummer -- to not be able to provide that,” Calabrese said.

The plant shop doesn’t currently offer shipping, but will consider the option as temperatures warm up and the shipping process becomes less threatening for Urban Planting Cleveland’s plants.

Calabrese is hopeful that small shops will experience a boom in business once the coronavirus crisis eases.

“The people that can find a way to weather it out, I think will come out and have a super good year,” Calabrese said. “It’s just a matter of how long it takes to get back to that. That’s the concerning part.”

The waiting game applies to small bookstores in Northeast Ohio, which are forced to close due to the order. Mac’s Backs, a book shop in Cleveland’s Coventry neighborhood, will continue to offer book orders online, provided through the shop’s supplier.

When it comes to new reads, though, many popular books set to be released this spring have had their release dates pushed back into the summer or fall, due to coronavirus.

“Some of those big revenue-producing books for the publishers, they’re not getting attention right now. They can’t do tours or anything,” said Suzanne DeGaetano, the owner of Mac’s Backs. “People are turning to reading at home, for sure, but that won’t make up for some of the publishers having to put off their big books.”

DeGaetano said that Mac’s Backs had a steady stream of customers in the past week, especially after local libraries closed. The shop had so many browsers that DeGaetano decided to close and lock the doors, only offering pickup and curbside delivery of books.

Now, the business is going almost entirely online -- which will decrease Mac’s Backs’ revenue, but hopefully keep its staff paid with regular wages, DeGaetano said. Small business loans, grants and landlord negotiations are options that DeGaetano said she, and other local book shops, can pursue in the future if needed.

“The encouraging thing has been the community’s response to ordering online. It’s a lifeline,” DeGaetano said. “The best thing is for the whole world to get through this. Right now we’re trying everything we can to hang on.”

While all businesses currently feel the strain of a worldwide pandemic, some small shop owners with limited staffing are grateful they don’t have to lay off employees. Troy Schwartz, the owner of Waterloo-based toy store Star Pop Vintage + Modern, is also the store’s sole employee.

He temporarily closed the shop on March 13.

“I have people who are very close to me, who are immunocompromised. I hope that people take this seriously,” Schwartz said. “I appreciate that the governor has been attempting to move us in the right direction, but obviously we need the public and other businesses to do their best, also.”

Schwartz is confident that he can weather a few weeks of closure at Star Pop, but after that, he may look at listing his collectible items in an online store.

Other local businesses have larger teams to look after. Cleveland Candle Company will shut down its three locations -- two in Cleveland (Ohio City and Coventry) and one in Mentor -- on Monday night. Though the company will offer online sales to boost its business through the coronavirus crisis, it depends on large gatherings in its candle-making classes for much of its revenue.

“A lot of our business is making candles and making memories. When people can’t gather, it’s a little tough,” said David Gin, a co-owner of the business. “We saw a 65% drop off in business last week, compared to a normal week in March. It’s really significant.”

Much of that drop off, Gin said, was due to party cancelations. Cleveland Candle Co. was even set to open a new party space in its Ohio City location, which can accommodate around 50 people. The party space’s rental schedule has been put on hold.

In the meantime, Cleveland Candle Co. plans to offer specialty scents and candle pairings for order on its website. Gin is also on the lookout for small business stimulus packages, set to be released soon.

As the crisis continues to escalate, many business owners -- including Fear -- plan to consider online orders and shipping opportunities if they’re able, and allowed to do so, in a safe way.

For now, Fear is worried that the coronavirus crisis could change the fabric of her Lakewood community -- and she encourages consumers to purchase local goods whenever they are able.

“You don’t see a whole lot of chains in my area. There’s been such a push over the past couple of years for small businesses,” Fear said. “I watch businesses come and go constantly on my street, and that’s without a pandemic. I think it is going to really, really hurt the community.”

She continued:

“Be safe, and support us when you can, and if you can. When we all open back up, throw the money back into your community again, because we’ll all need it pretty badly when this is all over.”