When you walk into Destiny USA, you can see things have clearly changed.
There are directional signs to keep the traffic flowing the right way. There are sanitizer stations everywhere, plastic on the elevator buttons, and everyone is wearing a mask.
“Everybody should to keep other people safe, myself safe, my family safe. I recommend everyone should wear a mask," said Hanney Sarkis-Scalzo.
“I feel safe. I mean, I’ll keep my distance and stuff, wear my mask, and just wash my hands, use sanitizer, do the whole normal thing that we all have to do," said Mariah Lovine, another shopper.
The mall finally reopened the doors at 11 a.m. Friday.
“I love coming here. I had my business here; I worked and I sold it, so this is like my second home," Sarkis-Scalzo said.
“Instead of being quarantined for the last couple months, it gives me something to do, but at the same time, I want to be safe," said shopper Frank Holmes.
Shoppers are thrilled to walk into stores, and those store owners are thrilled to have them back.
“Today is kind of like the first day of school: a little trepidation and a little excitement all at once," said Mike Theiss, the University Sport Shop owner.
“Customers, of course, they like the mall. It’s been four months since we closed the mall. They’re happy, the stores are happy. It’s good to see everything back to normal again," said Jay Curt, "The Essentials" store owner.
Since businesses just found out that they could reopen Friday, it’s no surprise that many establishments are still shuttered.
“The reason why I think they’re closed: It’s such short notice," said Syracuse Newstand Owner Gonul Yuksel, “getting ready to clean up and whatever needs to be done. I’m sure they’ll be open either tomorrow or the next day.”
Several were ready for the green light, after spending months preparing for the state to give the go-ahead.
Store owners are just hoping that people stick to the guidelines, so they can stick to making money.
“I just want everyone to follow what needs to be done, so we can stay open as long as we can," Yuksel said.
“It’s a whole new thing; it was hard to say which was the correct way to open. I think as time goes on, we’ll see New York did it the right way," Theiss said.
The Destiny parking lot was pretty full Friday, but inside, it didn’t look packed with people all day. The store owners Spectrum News did talk to said they expect that to change this weekend, as more people learn that the mall is back open for business.