Black Coffin Tattoo has come back from the dead.
The St. Paul tattoo parlor was silent as a graveyard for two months — due to Gov. Tim Walz shutting down non-essential businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The parlors were re-opened on June 1 — with some of them bouncing back, and others closed with no plans to re-open.
Black Coffin has jumped back to life, even with all the mandated hygiene rules. “It was scary for a while,” said owner Garrett Rautio. “But now the phone is ringing off the hook.”
Other shops remained shuttered even 10 days after the re-opening date. “A lot of them have chosen to remain closed,” said Marx Barry, owner of Rose of No Man’s Land in Woodbury, which is open.
Several were hit with an additional blow — rioting and protests following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman. Acme Tattoo in St. Paul remained boarded up on June 12, but owner Gabriel Bosquez said business has rebounded to normal levels.
“Customers are anxious to come in. They have been waiting a long time,” said Bosquez.
As might be expected from places that poke needles into people, the parlors are managed by hygiene fanatics.
Rose owner Barry said tattoo shops have always worked to prevent blood-related diseases – but not necessarily airborne diseases like coronavirus.
But they have adapted. They have added masks for clients and staff, installed Plexiglas dividers, and accept customers by appointment only.
Black Coffin has added one more innovation — contacting clients one week after they leave, to see if they have come down with any symptoms.
Owner Rautio also takes temperatures of his staff every day, not only the clients who arrive.
The shops, and most other businesses in Minnesota, were closed March 27 by Walz’s stay-at-home order. Walz allowed the tattoo parlors to re-open on June 1 at 25 percent capacity.
Black Coffin was set to open then, but delayed the opening for one week because of the protests.
Some of the owners said the shutdown order was unfair. “I see all the businesses, with thousands of people, open — Menards, Home Depot, Target — and they shut us down,” said Hung Nguyen, owner of Hung’s Tattoo Parlor in St. Paul.
“All the little guys have been dying for two months, and the big guys make money.”
But Andy Rowe said he accepted the shutdown as necessary. Rowe’s shop, Port and Starboard Tattoo and Piercing in St. Paul, is so small that he was the only person working last Wednesday.
“Tattoos are not essential,” he said. “They are a luxury item.”
Black Coffin’s Rautio agreed. “We are not curing cancer. We are drawing skulls.”
What has been the toughest adjustment to make?
“Not shaking hands,” said Rose owner Barry.
He described the impulse that he now has to fight every day. “You meet people, say hello, say goodbye, you shake their hand,” he said. “You give me money, I shake your hand.”
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Tattoo parlors look to make their mark once again as coronavirus restrictions ease - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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