At the very beginning of March 2020, when there were relatively few cases of coronavirus in the Granite State, Roger Weinreich, president of Good Fortune Jewelry & Pawn in Keene, caught the virus. That, coupled with his conversations with business contacts in Asia, prompted Weinreich to shut down his shop even before the governor issued a stay at home order. Weinreich hoped he could lead by example and help the U.S. get ahead of the pandemic.

“We optimistically thought, ‘let’s shut down for 60 days,’” Weinreich said.

He urged others in his region and his industry to do the same, but it soon became clear that the impacts of the pandemic would last much longer than two months.