Checking in with the restaurants

This week the Highlands Current ran a story called “Business as Usual”, by Jeff Simms, which included some insights on how covid-19 has impacted small businesses so far. Jeff reached out to the Cold Spring Chamber for some perspective from the businesses point of view. Here are some highlights from the article.

“April is the first month (of a normal year) that things start turning (around) for businesses,” said Eliza Starbuck, the president of the Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce and co-owner of Flowercup Wine in Cold Spring. “People couldn’t even respond. If your business isn’t online, you can’t just throw a website up and start selling in a week.”

Eliza pointed out to Jeff that for food service businesses this year, staffing has been a big issue.

“Restaurants, which require a full staff to operate, have struggled to find employees brave enough to take on the kinds of safety demands basically taken by essential workers,” Starbuck explained. “Their incomes are partially made up of tips. What happens when the tables are reduced?”

If the restaurants can manage to keep fully staffed, many will be running outdoor heaters in an effort to keep their patios open as long as possible. Restaurant businesses will be working on building their takeout offerings or shifting to market models in order to prepare for the winter ahead. We hope the community will make an extra effort to support the restaurants this fall and winter. Remember to tip your service people!