Sign of the times: Businesses feel economic impact

Sign of the times: Businesses feel economic impact

Lauren Marburger, co-owner of Lockport Brewery in Bolivar poses at their makeshift carry out counter.

                        

“I’m working in a ghost town,” said Dan Oberlin, owner of Oberlin’s Antiques in Bolivar as he looked down the nearly deserted Canal Street.

That was three days before Governor DeWine’s “stay at home” order came down. Now Oberlin’s store and other businesses deemed non-essential are closed.

The good news in all of this is that, even as the coronavirus continues to keep us all “socially distanced,” local businesses are coming up with some inventive ways to keep serving their customers. Others are simply doing their best to weather the storm.

How and what some local restaurants are doing.

When restaurants were ordered to close, it wasn’t long before a new Facebook group popped up called Tuscarawas County Take-Out. Created on March 15, the group had more than 14,000 members inside a week.

The group was created by Chrissy Dierkes-Blackwell, business and events coordinator for the Tuscarawas Chamber of Commerce. “We want to do what we can, while we can, so that these small businesses are still here on the other end when recovery begins,” she said.

Dierkes-Blackwell said she had a lot of help in creating the group from networking on Facebook with other chambers and organizations sharing how to help local businesses at this time of crisis. “When I saw this as an idea, I knew this would be something our residents would be passionate about,” she said.

Lockport Brewery - Bolivar

This local microbrewery has been coming up with some interesting ways to serve customers and stay in touch. Owners Lauren and Andrew Marburger wasted little time in setting up a drive-up carryout service open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. They are also featuring live music via Facebook from time to time, and even found a way to keep their Tuesday Night Trivia event going by video on Facebook.

“We quickly shifted our business model to carry out and so far the support has been amazing.” said Lauren Marburger. “All our beer is available in crowlers (32 oz cans) and growlers. We’re also selling take-and-bake pizzas (pepperoni and cheese and cheese only) and we have apparel for sale.”

Marburger said the easiest and fastest way to place orders is via their website at www.lockportbeer.com/shop, adding, “We’d love to see you six feet away at the brewery.”

Canal Street Diner - Bolivar

Kayla Patton and her sister say they are working hard to keep the restaurant open. “We are trying to keep running the specials that our customers enjoy and are still offering a full menu,” said Patton. What’s different are their hours—now 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday—and offering curbside carryout only. The restaurant is also offering “family of four” deals that are just as appropriate for two people, since the leftovers provide a second meal at a deal price.

Patton acknowledges that business is down a bit, but said she feels hopeful. “We have some really loyal, supportive customers that are like family to us.” She added the diner is sanitizing at the top of the hour all day, and that if someone comes to the door to pick up food, they bleach it down right away. “We take pride in the fact that the health department uses us as a place to train new people,” said Patton.

Towpath Tavern – Bolivar

Rich Dotts, co-owner of the Towpath Tavern, said their business has definitely taken a hit. “Our daily receipts are about 1/3 of what we normally see,” he said. He and his wife, Tina, are doing all of the work at the restaurant as they have had to lay off employees. In the meantime, they are offering carryout, curbside service and home delivery. He is hopeful the situation will not last more than a few weeks.

Donnie’s Tavern – Zoar

The timing of the coronavirus has been extremely difficult for new restaurants like Donnie’s Tavern. But owners Nate and Maggie Kelly are planning to continue feeding people with menu items based on ingredients they get locally. They are offering take-out, curb-side and home delivery within 15 miles.

“I feel it’s very important to support the local small family owned restaurant because we support farmers and local Ohio ingredients,” said Nate Kelly. “We strive to use local Ohio companies, and if we hurt, they hurt.”

Bolivar Nutrition – Bolivar

Jim LeBlanc, owner of Bolivar Nutrition and Inside Out Nutrition in New Philadelphia measures his success by the number of Herbalife shakes made in a day. He said they’ve seen a small drop in that number. “Time will tell if it drops more,” he said. He said they are offering home delivery and take-out. “You can call in your order which streamlines the process and makes it faster for you,” said LeBlanc.

Sabor Latino - Bolivar

In another example of a new business getting hit hard by the crisis, Sabor Latino is a new restaurant in Wilshire Hills serving Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine. “Our top priority is the health and well-being of our customers and staff,” said Yeymi Romero who owns the business with his wife Jose. Yeymi Romero said they have implemented a drive-thru pickup window and are looking into offering delivery and adding more affordable family combos to the menu. The Romeros are hoping to see growth pick up in the future.

Tin Shop Coffee House – Zoar

Owner Melissa DiGirolamo said, “We are currently closed, although we are working on a system that will allow us to have take-out while keeping our customers and employees safe.” Another of the newer businesses in the area, DiGirolamo said it also hurts her business that the opening of Historic Zoar Village for tours is a set-back. Like others, she is just hoping to get back to business as usual sooner rather than later.

Biscotti by the Bunch - Zoar

Sue Gaiser, owner of Biscotti by the Bunch said the crisis has essentially shut her business down. “Not having a brick and mortar contributes to people forgetting about buying,” she said of her business that sells home-made biscotti to local shops and retailers.

“Desserts, too, are not an essential item and are often the first thing to be removed from people’s grocery lists.” Gaiser also sells her product at farm markets, winery events, craft shows and charity events, many of which will be postponed or canceled.

However, Gaiser said, “There will be an end to this crisis,” and she said hopes the government is going to do something to help the businesses that are being hurt.

Sublime Smoke - Bolivar

“Carry out has always been part of our business, so I feel fortunate that we had the ability to pivot to carry out only very quickly,” said owner Zach Salapack. He notes that revenue is down, but not as sharply as he had imagined it would be. “We have a wonderful following, and they really came through in the clutch,” said Salapack.

Like other restaurant owners, Salapack is worried about his staff and their ability to pay their bills. “We take our place in the community seriously, and we hope that by continuing on in the manner prescribed by the Governor and health experts, we are providing a sense of community, normalcy, and sustenance,” said Salapack. A 23-year veteran of the food service industry, Salapack said he has never seen anything like this.

“I never thought the rainy day fund would go toward something like this. I have no idea what the future holds. I just know that we plan to be in it, serving barbecue and our community.”

Good Advice

Restaurants, of course, aren’t the only businesses being affected. Heather Jones, owner of Lock 7 Hair Studio in Bolivar said they closed as soon as they learned that the coronavirus could be spread by just being within six feet of another person. “We aren’t able to perform services without being that close to people so we decided closing was the best thing we could do to help keep the virus from spreading,” said Jones.

In the meantime, she had a couple of ideas to offer people until the salon reopens. “You can actually use eye shadow to cover those gray hairs,” she said. “You can use dark-colored eye shadow or order gray fill-in powders online. Just don’t use that same shadow on your eyes.”

Jones said there are lots of tutorials on YouTube that can guide you through the process. She also encourages people to play around with different hair styles as their hair grows out. “Please don’t cut your own hair,” Jones said.

Tom Simmelink, co-owner and president of Whitemyer Advertising in Zoar, also had some words of advice for local businesses that want to stay top-of-mind during the crisis and after it is over. “Companies that do the best they can to continue to meet the needs of their customers and markets — and strongly communicate those efforts — will be the first and strongest to emerge when the curve flattens and the war starts to subside,” said Simmelink.

He urges business to maintain and strengthen loyalties among their customer base by doing all they can to maintain the flow of products and services. “A lot of restaurants are offering take-out menus, but they also should spice them up by promoting changing ‘specials’ and perhaps including a cookie and a personal note of thanks. For an auto repair shop, how about offering pickup service for oil changes that also includes an interior cleaning? For a gym, promote exercise classes streamed online or via YouTube.”

Simmelink also suggests making sure you have your happiest employee answering the phone or working at your drive-thru window. “We are hearing enough gloom and doom—businesses need to keep it as positive as possible. The point is, you want to be remembered favorably when the green light does come on.”

Chrissy Dierkes-Blackwell said of the Tuscarawas County Take-Out Facebook group, “I believe many of us are interested in keeping these restaurants in business during a time of great uncertainty. It’s important to eat, drink, and shop local anytime we can, not just during a crisis. These businesses employ our friends and family, they support our schools and sports teams, and they help provide quality of life for everyone.”


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