ST. ALBERT — Bossio Painting & Decorating has been specializing in interior residential and commercial repainting since 1976. The company has operated out of St. Albert since 1978.
“We moved to St. Albert in 1978 because we thought it was the best place to raise a family and run a business,” explains Trudy Bossio. “It is a beautiful community that wants to stay that way, and we can help by keeping homes and businesses looking good.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected their company.
“Our business has dropped off completely,” says Bossio. “People are hesitant to have workers in their homes and since our specialty is residential repaints, we have nowhere to work.
"Our options right now are empty homes and exteriors, which are very dependant upon the weather. This time of year we are usually busy booking jobs to the end of summer, but so far we have not been getting phone calls or emails requesting work. Meanwhile we still pay the regular monthly expenses for phones, advertisements, insurance, etc.”
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Unlike many small businesses that offer a product, Bossio cannot offer curbside pickup or online shopping due to the nature of their business but Trudy and her team can follow the social distancing guidelines and wear masks as they work.
Despite the setback, she is impressed with how the community has pulled together.
“The people of St. Albert stand together to get through this difficult time. I see a lot of posts encouraging local shopping and curbside pickup. I am impressed with the way people are social distancing when I’m out and how many people are wearing masks. It shows they are trying to improve things in our community and the result of no current active cases shows that it is working,” says Bossio.
Go to the website to learn more about Bossio Painting & Decorating.
Nerissa McNaughton is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Great West Newspapers. This story was funded by the Facebook Journalism Project Supporting Local News Coverage of COVID-19 Program via the Local Media Foundation.
