Mathis Brothers Voluntarily Closes One Week After Reopening

[bc_video video_id="6150941741001″ account_id="5728959025001″ player_id="Hkbio1usDM" embed="in-page" padding_top="56%" autoplay="" min_width="0px" max_width="640px" width="100%" height="100%"] Mathis Brothers has once again closed the showroom in Indio. Exactly one week ago, the store had reopened its doors, allowing customers to shop in person on the showroom floor after an intense screening process. The store implemented new health precautions and a whole plan to keep customers safe but it didn’t change the fact that the county still deems them a non-essential business. After reopening last week, Mathis Brothers held a homemade mask donation for local firefighters on Friday. While there, store spokesperson Rit Mathis questioned if they would be allowed to remain open. "Here in Riverside County we may have to close, we’re not sure, but I will go on record as saying we’re not going to get in a legal dispute with the county, if they want us to close, we will," Mathis said. Riverside County public health officers told NBC Palm Springs, according to the order, Mathis Brothers was not supposed to be open. "Furniture stores are considered non-essential for in person sales," Brooke Federico, public information officer of Riverside County Public Health, said. "The sales can still continue in an online environment or a delivery environment." The county said the furniture store agreed to voluntarily close in-person sales. Effective Monday, they would be closed again. "We operate a chain of 30 stores, scattered stores across the nation and we’ve only had one store where local authorities have called into question whether or not we were an essential business." Mathis Brothers said they sell essential items and their screening process was more rigorous than stores like Target and Walmart who also sell furniture. "We certainly understand that there is a significant interest in the community to have many stores open again and what we want to remind people is that we are still under the governor’s executive stay-at-home order at this time," Federico said. Now, the chain store waits with the rest of the county’s non-essential services to be back open for in-store business. Governor Newsom’s stay-at-home order does not have an end point at this time but the county said when that is released they’re ready to make "immediate changes".