CLAY COUNTY – The doors opened – finally – at Sweet Sensations Café at 10:30 a.m. last Monday. In less than 40 minutes, orders were stacked two-feet-tall at the front counter.

But unlike the previous five weeks, there also were customers sitting inside the cozy sandwich shop in Green Cove Springs. More important, there was a sense of relief that Florida is open for business again.

“I was little nervous,” Sweet Sensations owner Tara Paniccia said. “I was so excited to flip the ‘Open’ sign around. It feels great to be getting back to normal. It’s great to be this busy again.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis initiated Phase I of Florida’s reopening on May 4 as a limited response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time since March customers were allowed to sit down and enjoy a meal instead of taking it home, walk into a store to shop and take a leisurely walk along the beach.

Restaurants were allowed to reopen 25% of their dining rooms and no longer have to rely solely on to-go and deliveries. Retail stores could open the doors as long as they limit the number of customers to assure everyone is maintaining social distancing.

Reopening came just in time for Michelle Byers. With Mother’s Day approaching six days after the order was lifted, it will allow her to make up for weeks of lost sales at her Chocolate Shoe Boutique on Fleming Island.

“It felt amazing to open again,” she said. “We had been doing online shopping and pickups, but it’s nice to see people again. It’s good to be moving forward.”

While restaurants are allowed to open their dining rooms for partial occupancy, some are still keeping the front doors locked out of precaution.

While DeSantis said state parks were allowed to reopen, saying “The Department of Homeland Security biodefense lab recently conducted a study about the effect of sunlight, heat and humidity on the virus, in terms of surface transmission and in terms of respiratory droplets and aerosols.”

Nonetheless, Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park in Keystone Heights was still shut down on Tuesday.

The Avenues Mall, St. Johns Town Center and St. Augustine Premium Outlet Mall all opened on May 4. The Orange Park Mall is scheduled to reopen on Friday as employees now are allowed to leave the solitude of their medical sequesters to return to the workplace.

“We were closed for a month-and-a-half,” said Nicole Minsch, a server at Cedar River Seafood in Middleburg. “We did to-go orders. It kept a couple employees working. The community was awesome.

“I admit, we were scared. We were all concerned how people were going to start coming back.”

Maddy Baity, another server, lost all of her shifts at Cedar River for more than five weeks. She took a part-time job cleaning up construction sites to make ends meet.

“It’s nice to be back,” she said. “It’s nice to see our friends again.”

The next phase is expected to allow for gymnasiums, fitness centers, barber shops and salons to reopen. Hotels will be allowed to accept reservations and bestbet in Orange Park expect to be part of the next round of recovery.

Restaurants also are hoping maximum seating will be expanded to 50% capacity.

Everyone knows the economic comeback will take some time. And they know there probably will be more hardships.

Byers is worried shipping may be delayed as manufacturing and distribution adjusts to different levels of restrictions in other states.

At the same time, some residents still are reluctant to leave their homes, while others are happy to finally enjoy some sense of normalcy.

“Our business wasn’t great, but we stayed alive,” Paniccia said. “I didn’t have to lay anyone off. It was tough. Without the community, we wouldn’t be open right now.”