FREDONIA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The old saying "the show must go on," is true even during a pandemic. Filming continues for season 5 of Deluxe's Small Business Revolution that features Fredonia.
There are production changes, however. Amanda Brinkman, Chief Brand Officer at Deluxe and Host of the show, said the early scenes were shot in person before the pandemic. Now, all production is done remotely. The crew has video chat meetings with the participating businesses at least once a week. Businesses also send back videos and pictures to the show, as a way to showcase the makeovers happening at their businesses.
Production may be different, but the show's purpose is the same, helping small businesses. Carla Pucciarelli owns The Hair Bar, which has been closed since mid-March. She said the show has been giving her valuable advice.
“Throughout our whole community, without small business revolution, it would’ve made this pandemic even harder," she said. "We've all kind of come together, they're literally there 24/7 for me pretty much."
Pucciarelli said the physical makeover of her salon has been a little slower due to work restrictions on contractors, but the show is fast tracking some other components in order to help the businesses.
“While we would’ve maybe previously waited to launch their website, or their new branding, or their email marketing or social media strategy closer to the end of filming, we’re now doing that right now," Brinkman said.
Brinkman said the impact coronavirus has on local businesses will play a big role this season.
The show was scheduled to air in September. Brinkman said that's been pushed back to November. She said crews hope to return to Fredonia in July to continue filming.
The show can be found on Hulu, Prime Video, and streamed on smallbusinessrevolution.org.
