Local businesses adjust to effects of coronavirus

    Murphy – At a time of year when business starts to pick up in Cherokee County, many are having to change the way they do business or close for the time being.
    Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order that restaurants and bars had to close for dine-in customers at 5 p.m. March 17 couldn’t have come at a worse time for Colby Beck, owner of Parsons Pub. It was St. Patrick’s Day, and he already had everything prepared for festivities that night.
    “It was honestly a huge punch in the gut,” Beck said. “It’s our Black Friday and our anniversary.”
    He met with his staff and promised to give them some sort of pay. Some staff members with other jobs even offered their hours to those who didn’t.
    “We’re a very close-knit family,” he said.
    Beck is now providing everything on the menu as take-out only, which he said has gone better than he expected so far, as many regular customers are continuing to support him. He thinks he will be able to sustain the new business model for a couple of months, if needed.
    Lane Lowe, owner of The Daily Grind & Wine, was one business owner who had very difficult decisions to make. Early last week, she already started serving everything to-go. As she waited for Cooper to announce the details of his order closing restaurants and bars for dine-in customers, she weighed ideas for take-out, hoping to continue taking care of her three full-time and three part-time employees.
    “It’s kinda my duty to keep it rolling as long as I can,” she said on March 17.
    Hours later, she announced the business was closing until further notice.
    “The numbers aren’t there to sustain all businesses – both fast-food and what used to be sit-down – in take-out,” Lowe said. “If I were to stay open I’d put a strain on my employees, my budget and the other businesses in town trying to keep their doors open. By closing, I allow my staff to collect the assistance the government has promised them versus staying open, where I waive that benefit for them and can’t promise them what they’ll receive.”
    Across the hallway, Anne Silver was happy to see that people were stocking up on books so much that her business, The Curiosity Shop Bookstore, had a record-breaking day March 16. But the feeling was bittersweet.
    “We know we might have to close soon,” Silver said.
    The business, co-owned with Kerry Archer, is usually able to cover the winter months of January, February and March with profits saved from the previous year, but by the time April comes they are dependent on sales. Even with loss of income, they still have to pay their overhead and for products they invested in earlier for spring and summer.
    “It would be very difficult,” Silver added.
    In Andrews, restaurants and breweries were making the best of the situation. Rumors that restaurants were told not to comply with the executive order were not true and likely based on enforcement concerns, Mayor James Reid said.
    “The restaurants are doing what they’re supposed to do, and I’m very proud of them,” Reid said.
    Duran Smith, owner of Cups & Cones Cafe, said the town had been fantastic with communication, and Reid, aldermen and other town officials and regulars have been stopping by asking how they can help.
    He said there have been creative ideas discussed, like closing the street for outdoor seating, but there were concerns it could violate the executive order banning gatherings as well as the CDC guidelines.
    Smith said his business was just starting  to provide more for customers – offering sandwiches for breakfast, soups and sandwiches for lunch – when the restrictions started. Instead of seeing an increase in business, they are down 40 percent.
    “It’s stressful,” he said.
    Smith would prefer the state gave business owners more warning before implementing orders.
    “Give the restaurants a chance to get rid of products they have on hand,” he said.
    In fact, he had already turned away an ice cream order because of his uncertainty in being able to sell it, especially since kids aren’t able to stop by after school.
    Snowbird Mountains Brewery shut its doors for regular business, but opened Saturday afternoon only for take-out growler orders and fills. For every growler purchased during the restrictions, owner Terry Vaughn planned to donate $1 to the Cherokee County Schools Lunch Box Heroes program.
    “I want to give back to the community because the community has been good to us,” Vaughn said. “We’re in this community. We want to stay in this community ... We love giving back.”
    As a small business that opened less than a year ago, Vaughn said the dining restrictions are going to affect him a lot. He and his wife, Linda, hope that only being open on Saturdays to sell and refill growlers will be enough to sustain them. They have no employees.
    “We’ll just have to see how it all plays out,” he said.
    Last week, both the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce and Andrews Chamber of Commerce started providing a new feature on their websites to help people find businesses that are open and how customers can access them. Sherry Raines, executive director of the county’s chamber, said they were including businesses that are not members.
    “The webpage is going to help local businesses quite a bit,” she said. “We feel like the whole community has to come together with this.”
    Raines, who has been in contact with the Small Business Administration, has also gathered information about loans available to help small businesses.
    Beck thinks the work of the chamber, and the support of community as whole, is one of the best things about small towns. He added that the local restaurants are cross-promoting each other instead of competing.
    “I think our community is going to be an example,” he said. “It will be a shining star.”
     Raines said the impact of the virus is hitting the area at a hard time, since it is when business typically picks up.
    “I’m praying our businesses can hang on,” she said. “I’m optimistic. I think we have to be.”