By now, most are probably aware of the huge hit that some businesses – most businesses – are taking due to the measures being taken in response to the coronavirus. GM, Ford and Chrysler all announced a temporary ceasing of operations. By noon on Thursday in New Orleans, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission some 30,000 people had applied for unemployment insurance this week compared to only 1,700 last week.
In Atlanta, the normally slammed Centennial Olympic Park is quiet, particularly jarring for a pretty spring day. The traffic reports on the radio all run through rather quickly as even the Connector is smooth sailing as so many people are working from home. Restaurants are particularly struggling as people eat at home and avoid crowded dining rooms or bars.
Anthony Vipond is the general manager and founder of Whiskey Bird on Highland Avenue in Atlanta. Business is usually brisk but has contracted down to a fraction of its former self in the past couple weeks, moving to only takeout and delivery and hours only from 5-9pm on Tuesday through Sunday. The menu has been restructured to help on execution and with the takeout in mind.
“With a very heavy heart, we have also had to lay off the majority of our staff. It was the toughest decision we have ever had to make, but we were forced to do this with the drop in business. We are working to achieve partial unemployment claims for our staff and doing whatever we can to help ease the burden on our team,” said Vipond. “We’re promoting donations with every takeout order, 100% of which goes towards our hourly employees, and also continuing to employ as many of them as we can to execute delivery.”
Over at Agave on Boulevard in the Cabbagetown area, owner and founder Jack Sobol tells an equally crushing story. “The ongoing pandemic has crushed us along with so many other small, independent restaurateurs. For full service restaurants, take out only will not come close to covering our overhead, payroll, benefits, etc,” said Sobol. “Without liquor, beer and wine sales, full service establishments with large overheads are dead in the water.”
Sobol does have a regulation suggestion that could help Atlanta restaurants during this period. “If take-out is the only option for restaurants, the City of Atlanta should follow suit and do what the city of Lawrenceville just did,” said Sobol. “They passed legislation in one day to allow restaurants to sell beer and wine to go along with a food purchase. I would take it even farther and include liquor to help boost sales and to help boost tax revenue for the city.”
Sobol and his Managing Partner have already stopped paying themselves and are putting savings into covering payroll for staff. Many of Agave’s staff have been with the restaurant since the beginning in 2001 and the team is very close and Sobol’s biggest concern is for them. They have had to limit staff and are making it optional to go to work.
Hopefully this will pass soon but in the meantime, there is a very clear strategy going forward for supporters of local restaurants. “The best thing people can do is order takeout from the restaurants in their community, buy gift cards and help support any fundraising they are doing for their staff,” said Vipond. “Every restaurant is doing things in their own way but for restaurants to survive, it will require sustained community support all the way through this time period for however long that may be.”
