There's A New COVID-19 Store In Miami & It's The First Of Its Kind
There is a store in South Florida that is dedicated to protecting you from the novel coronavirus. COVID-19 Essentials in Miami is open for business in the Aventura Mall. The pop-store is gearing Floridians with all the necessary tools for the pandemic.
COVID-19 Essentials sells any-and-everything novel coronavirus related, but with a dash of Miami flare added to the mix. Nadav Benismitzky, the owner of the store, has been operating the brick-n-mortar shop for about three weeks.
Before you even set foot in the store, patrons are prompted to a thermal imaging machine. Working with Kent Services, the machine checks prospective shoppers' temperature and ensures that they're wearing a mask before entry.
After passing the scanner, you'll enter the chicest COVID-19-centric store you will ever lay your eyes on.
They sell $9 hand sanitizers, portable UV lamps, infrared thermometers, and fashionable face masks.
All of the store's masks are made with 100 percent cotton, N95-grade material, and some are fashioned with LED lights, Benimetzky told Narcity. In short, these aren't your Walmart face coverings on display.
In Miami, there is zero-tolerance for drab, so Benismitzky set out to change the lackluster mask scene in the area. He says he got the idea to open the store because he was "tired of seeing the ugly N95 masks around town."
Working with Aventura Mall, he was able to land a lease for a space in the Nordstrom wing of the shopping center.
With most of South Florida now under some form of a face mask mandate, and a continued spike in cases in-and-around the region growing more worrisome by the day, Benimetzky's unique store could see more business.
As of Wednesday, the state recorded another high in cases, noting over 5,500 total cases. Miami-Dade currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, with 28,166 residents reported positive.
For now, the store is a pop-up, but Benimetzky says they'll "be here as long as the pandemic is here," with hopes that it'll be a permanent fixture at Aventura.
The next time you're on South Beach with your cool LED mask, raise a glass to Bemimetzky.