At first, Catchpenny had a warm welcome from locals and tourists alike. But as soon as reports of the coronavirus began circulating — even before the state shut down — Terravechia noticed that people were less willing to buy vintage or used goods.

“People were getting nervous,” she said. “There’s only so much you can know about an item, and the virus was so new.”

Before that, vintage items made up about half of sales at Catchpenny. Suddenly, that revenue stream all but disappeared. The whole environment at the store, which invited customers to have a hands-on shopping experience, seemed at odds with the pandemic.