As Uncertainty Looms, Tagalongs Play Place Owner Remains Hopeful

LAKE HOPATCONG, NJ – Like other small business owners, Carrie Haight was hopefully optimistic that the coronavirus pandemic was a mere blip on the map and would only keep the doors of her Tagalongs Play Place closed for a short time.

Then, Friday, March 13 arrived, word arrived that the pandemic was worse than many feared and everything changed. Now, nearly four months later, Haight sees no finish line in sight and is trying to prepare herself for what may be a long road ahead before she can reopen. And yet, in the midst of so much uncertainty, Haight remains hopeful.

Haight opened Tagalongs, a sensory and education-based play place that offers what is believed to be the only play place facility that includes calming sensory rooms for autistic children on the East Coast, almost five years ago. Typically, the spring months represent the center’s busiest time as parents book parties and other events, which keeps Haight’s business at almost a non-stop level.

But when the pandemic hit in March, the bookings stopped and the play place – like many other businesses - was forced to close. When Tagalong’s closing lasted longer than Haight originally planned, the single mother of a 6-year-old daughter began to scramble. She applied for the Payroll Protection Plan loans that other businesses put in for, hoping for a boost. But when the loan wasn’t for nearly the amount Haight was told she would receive and the stimulus check and tax return she was owned never arrived, things got worse.

“It’s still very tight for us,” Haight told Patch on Wednesday. “We’re not in a good situation. …there’s days I cry all day, but then find some sort of strength and tell myself that we’re going to pull through this.”

Once the play center was forced to close, however, Haight’s community embraced her and helped develop a plan that would allow the Lake Hopatcong site, along with Tagalong’s Fairfield location, to remain open. Friends convinced Haight to launch a Go Fund Me effort, which she initially fought but then gave into, hoping the effort would catch the attention of someone notable like musician Kevin Jonas, who is a client of Haight’s at Tagalong’s Fairfield location.

As of Thursday, however, the Go Fund Me has yielded just under $3,000 out of $100,000 goal. While Haight hoped for more, she is grateful for the financial support she has received. As things have worsened , Haight found herself needing to ask for assistance she had never had to ask for before the pandemic hit, panic began to set in.

Things got worse when attorneys representing gym owners in New Jersey sued the state, alleging Gov. Phil Murphy deems some businesses as non-essential, which keeps them from being able to reopen. As the possibility of reopening relatively soon began to fade, Haight realized as tough as things were, what was happening isn’t her fault. Yet, some days have been tougher than others.

“It’s just been this daily stress of, when is this going to end?,” said Haight, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis. “It’s just been tough of me because I’ve never been here before, I don’t know what this is like.

“I’ve never needed to borrow money from anybody in my life. I’ve worked for everything I have and so (it’s hard) when you’re put in a position you’ve never been in before.”

Until Tagalongs can reopen, the Lake Hopatcong location will host outdoor movies, socially distanced dance parties, kids karaoke parties and other events that will at least begin to get things rolling again. Haight hopes those events will begin next week, but there are still days when Haight, who also works as a licensed therapist, wonders how much longer she will have to wait to discover any sense of normalcy.

Haight has been amazed by the support she has received from the two communities that Tagalongs is part of. She has been encouraged by messages she has received that inspire her to keep pushing forward and has been graced with understanding landlords at the two facilities who have worked with her on rent.

Although there are days when the tears come and the therapy she shares with others must be directed inward, Haight is convinced the day will come when her doors will reopen and she can discover the normalcy that has been almost non-existent since mid-March.

“I just thought (Tagalongs) was a play place that some people understood and some people didn’t and I didn’t realize how many people care about us,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like this because when this started, I didn’t feel very supported but I also wasn’t telling anybody how bad it was out of embarrassment.

“But this wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t a bad business decision. There was no way I could have known a pandemic was going to happen. But I know we’re going to reopen. I just don’t know when."