How LI businesses are adapting

By Newsday staffJune 8, 2021

Many business owners spent quarantine innovating, and they're still adapting.

They’re developing creative ways to reach customers, from subscription sales to sourcing fitness equipment for gym members.

Newsday will highlight how companies are adjusting in a weekly feature.

Please send suggestions for future Q&As with innovative local business owners to recovery@newsday.com.

Taking the spa on the road

The perfect location for this entrepreneur's dream medical spa turned out to be a $280,000 custom trailer that can take services anywhere.

Patience pays: It's back to School of Rock

The pandemic forced Monica Rubin and her staff to switch to remote instruction and wait. But with COVID-19 restrictions easing, on-site sessions have resumed.

Preteen daughter's advice spurs TikTok success

Huntington acupuncturist scores 1.3 million 'likes' and 100 new customers after discovering TikTok isn't all about dance moves.

Snowstorm closures used to scare him. No more.

His bowling alley, The All Star, shut down for months, and owner Chris Keller struggled under the financial strain. Then he made a video that helped a lot.

The airport business dried up, so this Hamptons taxi started moving whole households

Once COVID struck, "Instead of people asking us to pick up one or two suitcases, it was more like 20," says the owner of Hamptons-based Tote Taxi.

Wholesale jeweler opens jewel box of a shop

The store's completion was delayed by the COVID shutdown, but its spacious layout, air-filtration system and available appointment shopping are meant to put customers at ease.

A martial arts studio's (kind and gentle) fight for survival

Atomic Tae Kwon Do in Huntington finds and fosters community among young students' families by getting parents involved in kids' Zoom classes.

Staffing agency deploys medical workers in new workplaces

Factories and TV production sets are among the workplaces ATC Healthcare Services sent medical workers wielding COVID testing swabs.

A psychotherapist who walks and talks with clients reflects on strength

A specialist in anxiety, transitions and stress says that COVID has dealt loss to many clients, and she is impressed by their courage.

Pandemic creates opportunity for LI entrepreneur to get into junk-hauling business

People stuck at home because of COVID looked around and found they had accumulated an awful lot of stuff, says the owner of a junk hauling franchise.

Hollywood gym returns to Long Beach after 20 years

A top-to-bottom makeover, with safety features, new technology and private rooms, brings an old name back to the city.

She's slicing her cheese business in new ways

When COVID hit, cheese-making bookings disappeared, but business is now thriving with the help of corporate accounts — and a loyal following.

Keeping songbirds well-fed in a tough year

Wild Birds Unlimited in Oakdale, pushed deeper into e-commerce and deliveries, began curbside services and added new products.

At online galas, a toast to flexibility

Marketing Works had to help nonprofits raise money, even in a pandemic. 'We've figured out a different world,' its CEO says.

25-year-old entrepreneur shifted early to PPE

His company's international reach made him aware of COVID before it was widely recognized in the U.S.

Aiming to become the Starbucks of pet grooming

A lawyer uses the COVID slowdown to buy pet stores and grooming outlets on Long Island and in Queens.

School lockdown specialist addresses a slower crisis

IntraLogic Solutions added technology to help schools open and stay open, including a rapid temperature-taking device used in buses and on walls.

Cupid gets a little extra help during COVID

High-end matchmakers see revenue increase after dropping some fees to $5,000 and adding a $1,000 Valentine's Day promotion.

Unpaid landlords say they can't pay their bills — or get new tenants

Long Island homeowners say the eviction moratorium has them strapped, with some facing eviction cases themselves.

Disinfecting, yes, but promoting harmony, too

The owner of Abracadabra LI Cleaning says she finds satisfaction knowing her service reduces family conflicts over chores.

COVID-19 forces singing man in gorilla costume online

Kerry Prep has adjusted his singing telegram business for the world of COVID-19 by shifting to a mostly digital model.

Mental health provider eases clients into virtual sessions

Hermanuella Hyppolite says virtual sessions have been helpful for many of her clients, who are more comfortable opening up at home.

Clothing kiosk operator 'builds the brand' during pandemic

'When everyone else is in defense mode, I like to go into offensive mode,' says the owner of Saltwater Long Island, which, in addition to a mall kiosk, now also sells clothing from a store.

LI dance center makes early pivot to virtual lessons

Even before the shutdown, the center's owners started taking the necessary steps to hold virtual classes so students didn't need to miss a single lesson.

This data protection firm stayed afloat by tweaking its cleaning for COVID-19

Measuring air quality was a standard part of cleaning at Setauket-based American Eagle Systems long before the pandemic. Then clients started asking if the company could sanitize facilities with potential COVID-19 contagions.

Presto change-o: Magician's shows go virtual

LI's TJ Tana has been hired to "Zoom-bomb'' corporate events and has begun hosting "public shows'' to which people can buy a single ticket.

LI subscription boxes shift to care packages

Partners in locaLI Bred subscription box business moved to a larger office after they shifted their offerings and customers saw the boxes as a way to reach out to others during the pandemic.

Vendy winner cooks up something 'totally different'

Customers used to have to find D'Abruzzo NYC's food cart to get a taste of their award-winning lamb skewers, but now the business is shipping nationwide.