After a long hot summer, Miami is opening up just a bit. Professional baseball, tennis, soccer and basketball games are being played. Some colleges are in session. And yesterday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced restaurants will be allowed to open on August 31.
One surprise in all this reopening: tattoo studios such as Iris Tattoo in Wynwood and 90 Miles Tattoos in Edgewater have experienced a surge of clientele at their studios since they reopened a few months ago. Many people came out of quarantine itching to get under the needle. COVID-19 has not stopped the flow of appointments despite new health and safety procedures these studios have had to implement for both clients and employees.
90 Miles Tattoos opened in early 2020, but had to shut down within a couple of months because of the pandemic. That might have had grave consequences, but surprisingly the store has maintained a pretty steady flow of clients. They have seen walk-ins and clients with reservations, as well as return clients. It’s been a challenge to take all necessary precautions to maintain a safe environment for clients and employees.
Iris Tattoo has also gained more clients since reopening. Although shutting down for the pandemic was difficult for all businesses, Iris has maintained a unique position with 4 years of building their business. They maintained a lot of interest from prospective clients who had been planning tattoos or have decided that Iris was the studio for them. Iris does not currently take walk-ins, but even with reservations by appointment only, they are busy during the pandemic. The new safety procedures have limited clients; they are operating at 50% capacity to minimize the spread of the virus. But calendars are constantly booked, and the days very busy.
90 Mile Tattoo is located 2693 Biscayne Blvd. It is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. The phone number is (305) 456-1751.
Iris Tattoo is located 2700 No. Miami Ave. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12 pm to 8 pm and the phone number is (786) 615-9186.
