COVID-19 Starves Local Restaurants

COVID-19 has taken its toll on the restaurant industry, forcing about 100,000 restaurants to shut their doors either permanently or long term within the first six months of the pandemic. The warmer weather and outdoor dining option was a saving grace for many restaurants over the past couple of months, but as winter creeps in and forces everyone inside, some restaurants will suffer from decreased foot traffic.

While some mom-and-pop shops have been able to stay afloat during quarantine, they are still dealing with the many repercussions COVID-19 has left in its aftermath. However, the storm is not over yet. The recent spike in cases threatens a second wave of COVID-19 to wash over the country, which could cause small local restaurants to go under.

Mama Giacomina’s Italian restaurant and the Continental Tavern are no strangers to the hardships of the pandemic, but both restaurants have gotten back on their feet and continue to navigate through these scary and uncertain times.

Breaking even

Restaurant owners Benny Cole and Wheeless opened Mama Giacomina's last December, just three months shy of the impending pandemic that would soon turn all business owners’ worlds upside down. Word about the new business spread quickly, and business was booming at the small Italian restaurant.

“We had a full dining room on Saturdays and Sundays for breakfast. [On] Friday nights, we had a packed dining room here, and we did a little bit of takeout,” Cole said. “People were starting to get to know us.”

This period of prosperity did not last for long. When COVID-19 sent the nation into lockdown back in March, business came to a grinding halt for Cole and Wheeless. As states began piling restriction after restriction on businesses, fewer and fewer people were going out to eat.

“We had like four or five customers a day. We did a little bit of catering every other weekend or something like that, but then it completely stopped,” Cole said. "It wasn't just our restaurant."

Cole continued, "When we were driving in or driving home, there would be no cars in the parking lots of businesses that have been open for 20 years or so. They're not doing any business either.”

Restaurants are considered essential businesses, so Cole and Wheeless were allowed to stay open during quarantine. The real question was will their, at the time three-month-old, business survive the pandemic or meet the same grim fate as thousands of other restaurants?

“We pretty much broke even,” Wheeless said, describing the economic hardship she and Cole faced. “We only took out of the business what we had to take for our personal bills.”

The fearful owners were on edge hoping they would not have to sacrifice the business for their personal well-being.

“We literally barely made enough to keep the lights on,” Cole said. “We had extra money saved, but it was scary to not know if we could pay our bills or not. As long as we could stay open, that's all mattered.”

Facebook saves the day

Before having to close the doors and say "Arrivederci" to Mama Giacomina’s, the Facebook page Mercer FOOD to GO during Covid-19 helped attract some business to the restaurant. The page was created to spread the word about supporting small local restaurants, such as Wheeless’ and Cole’s, during these unpredictable times.

“We blew up on Facebook on the Mercer COVID site, and more people started to hear about us and wanted to support us,” Cole said. “Since we just started to open, people didn't want us to shut down.”

The Facebook page, boasting 10,000 followers, attracted new customers to Mama Giacomina’s and takeout orders began piling up. The community’s support continues to keep the couple’s restaurant open for business.

“The people in Hamilton are part of a good community,” Cole said. “They want to keep all mom-and-pop restaurants open because it's terrible to see a place just open and close, or a place that's been open for 20 years and closed because no one's coming into the restaurant.”

Wolf attack

Mama Giacomina’s is not the only restaurant getting by on the support of the community. The Continental Tavern in Yardley, Pennsylvania is facing similar struggles due to the dramatic decrease in food and drink sales.

“Initially, they shut us down. We were just doing takeout, and then in June when we reopened, we had such support from the community that we've actually managed to do okay,” restaurant manager Mary Lou Henderson said. “We are down 28 percent in food sales and 50 percent in alcohol sales because they will not allow us to have a bar.”

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and his administration have contributed to the plummeting alcohol sales. Wolf’s ever-changing rules and regulations surrounding the consumption and sale of alcohol continue to detrimentally hurt restaurants across the state.

“Governor Wolf keeps restricting alcohol sales. I'm pretty sure people had to stop selling at 5 p.m. a few days ago,” Henderson said. “It is absolutely killing us."

Wednesday is normally our best day of the year, other than St. Patty's Day, and our sales were equivalent to a Monday,” continued Henderson.

Keeping things clean

While sales are down, the Continental Tavern has plenty of indoor seating space, in accordance with CDC guidelines, and will have room for customers as the frigid winter weather rolls in. The restaurant is currently operating at 50 percent capacity inside.

“Fortunately, we have the room upstairs, so we are able to spread guests out, and we have all these barriers,” Henderson said. “But people don't want to be inside and it's too cold to be outside, so it's hurting us badly.”

Although some customers prefer dining outdoors, staff at the restaurant prioritize customers’ safety by keeping surfaces clean and separating tables 6 feet apart.

“We sanitize every single chair, every table, everything. Every time a customer leaves and before another customer sits, even when we're slammed and busy, we're like, 'Hold on, we still have to sanitize and dry this table,” Henderson said. “So many people have said this is the best restaurant they've seen as far as following the CDC guidelines.”

All photos courtesy of Courtney Fegley

Learn about how COVID-19 has impacted the NFL here.