The buzz of tattoo needles and small talk is noticeably absent inside Yant Tattoo Studio in Forest Hills. All the furniture and equipment are also missing.

Two weeks ago, the owners and artists packed everything up after finding themselves inside what Governor Andrew Cuomo deemed an orange zone, an area just outside a cluster of coronavirus cases.

“All the personal care in this area had to shut down, so we had to move very fast,” said Kit Keys, one of the business partners behind the tattoo shop.

Keys said relocating was their only option. While the move to a pop-up shop in Chinatown is just temporary, Keys said their business model puts them in a unique position. If they closed entirely, they wouldn’t just lose the money they’d make on tattoos. They would also have to repay clients the deposits they provide before their actual appointment.

“In the three months during the big shutdown, we had to pay back deposits to the clients, close to $10,000. That's a big number,” Keys said.

But remaining open at this temporary location, the business still won't make a profit, or even break even. Keys said they’ve lost clients who are fearful about traveling from Queens into Manhattan, and they’re also on the hook for rent in both Chinatown and Forest Hills. 

"At the moment, we are scrambling between both places because we have to pay rent, which cost the same as here. So it's like we're paying double now, and we don't generate double," Keys said.

While the tattoo parlor has moved into the yellow zone from an orange zone, they aren’t quite sure exactly when they will return. They want to do it as soon as possible, but they are trying to come to an agreement with the artists because they’ve already made appointments with clients for their temporary location, and they don’t want to confuse customers.