Aug. 7, 2020

By Molly Wetsch, for SiouxFalls.Business

A downtown Sioux Falls business has incorporated a creative approach to encourage mask-wearing. 

The Spice & Tea Exchange at 328 S. Phillips Ave. offers a coupon for 10 percent off to anyone wearing a mask in the store.

Although many retailers are requiring masks while shopping, the specialty ingredient store decided to take a slightly different route.

“We just wanted to try and keep our guests and employees safer,” said Tami Brown, co-franchisee of the Sioux Falls location. “There’s so much negativity around the mask issue. Either people are highly in favor, or they’re highly against it. … We wanted to try and change the narrative a little bit.”

The coupon is meant to be used on a future visit and good through Sept. 30.

The discount has been popular among customers, she said. Although the business itself is heavily based on being able to test out products before buying, The Spice & Tea Exchange has made accommodations to those who wish to still smell or taste the spices and teas available by offering individual samples.

“One of our best ideas is that people come in and smell the spices and the teas, but we aren’t doing that right now,” Brown said. “What we’ve done is we’ve told people we can’t open jars right now, but we’re happy to get an individual sample for you. … We do end up throwing a little bit of product away, but we’ve all had cost increases with COVID-19.”

The store has experienced many positive outcomes because of the mask discount and is seeing more customers wearing one, Brown said.

“There are a number of people that I’ve observed that when they see the sign they put their mask on,” she said. “They have it and maybe they weren’t going to wear it, and then they decide to put their mask on.”

In addition to the 10 percent discount, The Spice & Tea Exchange has committed to donating a dollar to the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House for every purchase made by a masked customer. Many nonprofits have experienced major losses because of COVID-19, and the business wanted to give back to the communities that make up a large part of downtown Sioux Falls, Brown said.

“We’ve always had a soft spot for that population,” she said. “It just seems like it’s maybe one of those causes that maybe aren’t as ‘glamorous’ to be associated with, and we just thought that’s a really important part of our community to keep in mind.”