Economics

Rogue Businesses Go Underground to Dodge Virus-Era Restrictions

Barbers, dog groomers defy states, with house calls on the sly

Norm Candelore owns a chain of three dog grooming salons which he says serves over 16,000 customers. 

Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg

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With customers panicking over unkempt pets, Norm Candalore couldn’t stand to stay shut a day longer. He was inside his suburban Pittsburgh pet-grooming salon one April evening when an elderly woman pulled up, distressed at having clipped her collie’s nails too short and causing them to bleed.

“When this lady left, I looked at my daughter and I said, ‘We’re opening up,’” Candalore said. “I called all the local police departments and told them what we were doing.”