By Glenn Rolfe

Complete shutdowns and restricted capacities have created a changing business model during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And while uncertainty remains with the end not yet in sight, one thing is certain: the past 12 months have not been business as usual.

“I would say the low point was the day they announced the mandate that they were shutting down all restaurants and they gave us like eight hours’ notice, on a Monday. We had just ordered probably $10,000 worth of food that got delivered on Monday,” said businessman Ken Adams.

Gov. John Carney’s order last March that ended eat-in dining impacted Mr. Adams’ two family businesses, The Stockley Tavern and JD Shuckers in Georgetown, and scores of eateries across the state.

“They didn’t take any consideration of what we were going to do with it. And every restaurant was in that same position. What do you do? There was no, ‘Hey guys, we’re going to give you four or five days to limit your capacity to 50 percent, then 30 percent and then shut you down,” said Mr. Adams, who is also president of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Co.

“Basically, we were all thrown curve balls and it was: Who could figure out how to hit them.”

That response, depending on industry, location and creativity has varied throughout the state, with many businesses suffering and sacrificing to some degree. Some have fared well. Many have survived. Others have not.

“Our economy has really taken a really bad hit, and I just don’t think any of us could have ever anticipated doing this for a year,” said Judy Diogo, president of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce. “When we first started out a year ago, I think we all thought this was going to be maybe three months at the most, and we’d be able to kind of be operating back at normal again. I don’t think any of us ever anticipated that we would be a year later, talking about how we are still with restrictions and some of our businesses are still locked down.”

As of March 5 this year, the Central Delaware Chamber had lost 39 members.

“Thirty-nine businesses here that are members of this chamber that have actually closed their doors. It is permanent. They closed their businesses,” said Ms. Diogo. “It is really a mix. We have some restaurants. We have some retail. We had some offices, personal services, professional service offices that closed. It has been a little bit of a smattering of this and little bit of that. It has not just been in one category or one industry sector; we’ve seen it across the industry sectors.”

The mix includes fairly new businesses to seasoned, veteran establishments, she said.

“They just said, ‘This is it. I can’t do this anymore,’” Ms. Diogo said. “And many of them stuck around for a good bit of time. When we hit the six-month mark, we saw a few. Then when we were getting into month seven, eight, nine and 10 it has been more businesses closing.”

The Delaware Restaurant Association predicts that more gloom looms. Approaching the one-year mark from the original restaurant restrictions and business shutdowns in mid-March 2020, Delaware hospitality employment remains down 22%. With gross receipts data still showing a deficit of nearly 30% as of the close of 2020, the restaurant association estimates First State restaurants have lost over $1.2 billion in annual sales revenues since March last year.

“It’s dangerous to see open restaurants, and think ‘Oh they’re fine, they’re open and profitable again’ when the reality is, that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” said Carrie Leishman, president and CEO of the Delaware Restaurant Association. “Restaurants are existing on subsidies right now, and those programs will eventually end, the money spent. We need to continue to support our vital small businesses at every level, including the push for vaccination of our essential workers. Relief efforts cannot end when we are still only at 50% operating capacity with thousands of workers in Delaware still waiting to come back to work.”

Adapting to change

Mr. Adams said the closure of eat-in dining led to creativity in finding opportunities for impacted employees within The Joseph Family of Companies.

“There was nothing for servers to do. Fortunately, we have other businesses that we were able to move them to,” he said. “We did a lot of remodeling. We had kitchen staff painting; kitchen staff pressure washing. I think we did a pretty good job of trying to keep them all. We got as creative as possible, I think.”

Stockley Tavern, a popular sports bar/restaurant on US 113 that traditionally draws a large clientele from Georgetown Speedway, and JD Shuckers, an upscale seafood grill and raw bar, were shut down for extended periods.

“For the tavern, our impact was a little different. They put different restrictions on bars. We couldn’t have anybody in the building because of the way the regulations or the mandates were expressed or written. You could sit at a table, but you couldn’t sit at the bar unless you were eating food. Kind of an odd twist,” said Mr. Adams, noting that restaurants like JD Shuckers were impacted to an “even greater extent. It’s a bigger machine to feed, a bigger animal, with more moving parts than the tavern.”

Prepared for the worst

Michael Oxbrough, owner of Café on The Corner, a popular coffee, breakfast, lunch and BBQ eatery in Georgetown, said he entered the pandemic restrictions well positioned for change.

“I’ve always been set up primarily 95% takeout. I have always had only 10 seats inside the building. I have had a full patio, etc. So as far as that goes, businesswise it didn’t affect me.”

But his ability to adapt doesn’t mean he didn’t grow impatient with the government mandates.

In early May last year, Mr. Oxbrough — a self-proclaimed rebel with a cause — figured enough was enough.

Approaching the eight-week mark in Delaware’s coronavirus shutdown, he opened his restaurant to allow people to eat outside, within feet of the picnic tables allowed by the town to help support outdoor seating for customers.

And just this month, as Texas and other states reopened and dropped mask mandates and the one-year observance of the COVID-19 pandemic approached, Mr. Oxbrough was back in the spotlight.

“I put a sign out in front of my restaurant — God Bless Texas — because I am 100% in support of what Texas has done,” he said. “I am completely against all of this, 100 percent. I have been since Day 1. I am a completely very outspoken person against the governor. I am a very open book.”

He said he remains mystified by the logic of many restrictions that were imposed during the pandemic, including why big box retailers like Walmart could remain open — albeit with some restrictions — while capacity levels he considers economically suffocating were placed on smaller businesses, many of them family owned.

“My whole point with that is we are supposed to be socially distancing,” Mr. Oxbrough reasoned. “Well, wouldn’t it be easier to social distance if everybody was open and following the precautions rather than herding them all into one area?”

“You can go get this from these people, but you can’t get this from those people,” Mr. Oxbrough said. “When you do a 30% occupancy and mandate six feet apart, and put the plastic up, and do this and do that, well that really just hurt ridiculously.”

He is quick to note that those in the restaurant industry typically go far and above public health requirements, precautions and standards.

“Restaurants were always some of the highest trained people,” said Mr. Oxbrough. “We deal with health situations all the time. We have to sanitize. We have so much bleach and sanitizer. We wipe everything down constantly, but we were made scapegoats because we are an easy target.”

Ups and downs

Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce President Linda Price said in her community that “thankfully almost all of the business remained open” but have had “to re-think how to bring in business or to keep doors open and employees employed with reduced capacities. Most if not all restaurants went to offering curbside pickup, some form of delivery, offering family meals and using social media.”

Ms. Price praised the supportive role of the Town of Georgetown, which relaxed signage ordinances to allow restaurants to advertise opening, etc., while allowing pickup spots for those on Market Street.

Many businesses in downtown Dover survived by limiting the number of hours and days they are open and have become more internet savvy, offering their products online.

33 West Ale House and Grill was forced to close in January due to what the owner said were too many COVID-19 restrictions, including a capacity cap, which made the business impossible to be profitable.

The Rebel Cove Grill is set to open at the Ale House’s former location off Loockerman Street sometime this spring, as is an Artisan’s Market at the west end of the capital city thoroughfare.

Priscilla Rainey opened her Tax-E business at 31 W. Loockerman St. back in December.

It didn’t seem to faze her to open a business during a pandemic.

“Actually, to be honest, COVID presented for me an opportunity to excel,” Ms. Rainey said, “because I’m an essential business. And with all the different PPP’s (Paycheck Protection Programs) and different tax credits and things that are going on with people’s unemployment and all of these newly introduced ways of getting revenue, it’s going to be so confusing for most people.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who need help, so it’s actually worked out for me.

Entertainment intermission

The Clayton Theatre, the iconic beacon in Dagsboro, shut down in November. It has remained dark since even though movie theaters have been allowed to operate with limited seating and social distancing guidelines in Phase 2 of Delaware’s economic reopening.

“COVID has impacted us greatly as it has many movie theaters across the country. We are a single-screen theater so that makes it a little bit more difficult,” said Joanne Howe, owner of the theater on Main Street.

The Milton Theatre reopened in late January, offering its first show in six months.

Major festivals have not been immune. Virtually all mass spectacles in the last eight months of 2020 were canned, and cancellations have spilled into 2021.

The cancellation of events and closures of venues created a rippling effect for entertainers.

For disc jockey/entertainer Sky Brady, the world changed on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

“I remember like it was yesterday! Then, right from there all the private jobs I had as far as parties, events, were cancelled 100%. So, I lost everything,” he said. “Basically, I’m keeping my faith to get through this and do the best I can and not get too depressed or upset, which is kind of commonplace in my industry because I have been shut down.”

Restrictions silenced the ventriloquist talents of 61-year-old Seaford resident Ken Huff, a retired 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran whose entertainment act, Ken Huff & Mr. Goodwood, is known across Delmarva.

“Everything has been shut down because I do all the CHEER centers, all the senior centers. I do all the daycares,” said Mr. Huff. “Lucky thing I am retired military, so I have a little bit coming in. But other than Mr. Goodwood, and doing something with Mr. Goodwood, if I was dependent on that I would be out of business.”

Mr. Huff said there have been occasional virtual events, but the Zoom platform doesn’t offer audience feedback and it’s not quite the same.

“You see people laughing but it’s like, OK are they listening to me?” Mr. Huff said. “You are pretty much just doing a routine by yourself. It’s like rehearsal. That’s the new normal — for right now.”

As states across America have begun to reopen, Mr. Huff remains hopeful. In early March he did receive a couple calls for bookings in late May.

“So, I guess it is starting to take flight again, hopefully,” he said. “We’ll keep hope alive.”

To help make ends meet, Mr. Brady pursued other options.

“I just tried to do what I could do to keep the boat floating. So, I sold some stuff on Marketplace, some equipment I am not using any longer. I did some part-time stuff here and there. I did some things for volunteer jobs. I went up to State Street Nursing home and was able to do concerts outside where the residents could see me from the windows. That was very rewarding because they were in total lockdown,” said Mr. Brady.

Ms. Howe said after being closed from March 17 to June 19, the Clayton Theatre tried to stay open all summer, but the lack of major studio films limited the movies that could be shown.

Even when “Tenet”, a spy thriller by Warner Brothers came out, she said, many people weren’t ready to enter society with the risk of catching the virus.

“But at that point I think people were still afraid to come into the theaters. So, it impacted our business there, even though we were able to get a first-time film that was the talk of the town basically, because it was the first of the season,” Ms. Howe said. “And even at 50 percent capacity with the 6-foot distance that still cuts down quite a bit on the number of people you can seat in the theater.”

Mr. Brady echoed Ms. Howe’s observances about viewer apprehension.

“The people themselves, the attendees are declining to come to the events. So it’s not just a governmental restriction or something put on by the event people themselves. It’s the population themselves that don’t feel comfortable with going to a lot of these things. It’s not always cancelled because of restrictions but because of people not wanting to go.”

The Clayton venue continued to offer classics and hoped that “At War With Grandpa” would do well.

“Again, people were just not coming out,” said Ms. Howe. “At the end of October we made the difficult decision to finish up that film and then close down again in November. And we have been closed ever since.”

Clayton’s closure has impacted 10 employees. “Some of them are retired and were working here part-time. Others are students also working here part-time. Some of them have gotten other jobs to get them through during this period. And I am hoping to get most of them back,” Ms. Howe said, noting that government loans have helped sustain finances.

The hope is for a reopening of the Clayton this spring, maybe in May.

“Our plan is to open once the vaccines are out there, plentifully, and people start feeling more comfortable moving around the community and coming into enclosed places,” said Ms. Howe. “At that point, too, the studios are looking to start releasing some major films again. … The studios will work with us to get reopened, hopefully.”

No guests at the inn?

Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Georgetown, generally packed during warm weather with traveling families involved in youth sports at the likes of Sports at the Beach, absorbed both financial and emotional blows.

“I just remember sitting here in my office and we had heard murmurs of it but it hadn’t trickled down. Then all of a sudden … the phones just didn’t stop ringing,” said Mary Susan Jones, general manager of the award-winning hotel on US 113. “It was one of the eeriest feelings I’ve ever had. Because we’re trying to keep the money from going out the door and people are calling us and saying, ‘We can’t come because of this.’ We didn’t understand what the quote/unquote ‘this’ was as the COVID-19 pandemic until of course we got further down the road. It was just a trickle effect. And then is became a waterfall. It steamrolled … I’ve never seen water go down the drain faster. We lost, of course, like everyone else, a tremendous amount of business.”

The loss became personal, when, not an employee of the hotel, but a close associate passed from the virus.

“We personally do know someone that succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic early on. Someone that we were close to,” Ms. Jones said.
“It turned the tide to be, ‘OK, now everybody really is going to wear a mask and listen to what I have to say because I’m going to protect everybody. I’m going to do my darndest to protect everyone. I mean, it’s my job.”

Ms. Jones said the bleeding of revenue just kept on. She tuned into Gov. Carney twice a week on Zoom for his then-twice weekly press briefings. She made a binder with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state and other agencies. She emailed staff.

“We gave food to our staff who wanted to come and get it, food that would have otherwise gone bad — perishable and non-perishable. We gave it to them because they were at a loss. They needed help,” she said. “We just tried to hang on tight until we could get out the other end of it.”

Community unity

One thing the pandemic created is community unity.

In Georgetown, The Counting House held a fundraiser to support Brandywine Valley SPCA and the Chamber while they were affected, and the town helped support the Marvel Museum and the Georgetown chamber by allowing 50/50’s during the concerts that were able to be held.

“At least for this community, we all came together to support each other in a variety of ways,” Ms. Price said. “Sharing posts on Facebook, making sure to support the restaurants, helping each other, putting on a reverse Christmas parade to bolster spirits. It was great community spirit.”

Mr. Oxbrough echoed the have-each-others-back attitude at work in Georgetown, where restaurant owners and city leaders frequented eateries on a regular basis to do business and check in.

“The courts across the street, we had no issues with them. They did a fantastic job. They had all their police and stuff there, and I got a lot of support. And I’ve got a lot of support from the locals, people from all over lower Delaware. I’ve had people drive from Dover to come down. So the support has been great,” he said.

Downtown Dover Partnership Executive Director Diane Laird held a positive outlook for her commercial business district as well.

“The city has not only been holding steady, but we’ve been very busy working with multiple business prospects, investors, the development of a comprehensive parking solution, and preparing to launch outdoor events again in the coming months,” she said.

“Sometimes significant events, such as this pandemic has been, causes us to re-evaluate what we do and how we do it. I am confident that we will come out on the ‘other end’ with broader, more expansive ideas. COVID-19 has caused us to ‘expand in time and space’ with event and activities, and some of these new ideas will stick as we go forward.”