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North State Businesses Balance Safety, Economics As They Navigate Reopening — Or Not — Amid COVID-19

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Cafe Coda in Chico has opted to remain closed despite the state allowing restaurants to move forward with reopening.

Last month we checked in on businesses around the North State about whether they received funding from the emergency federal grant and loan programs launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on what the stay-at-home order meant for their employees and business.

Now as our region is moving further into Stage 2 of California’s reopening, we’re again checking the pulse of regional businesses. 

NSPR’s Ken Devol interviewed five North State business leaders about how they’ve been adjusting. Here are highlights from those conversations with the owners and spokespersons from Cafe Coda in Chico, the Allies Pub in Chico, Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, Yaks Coffee & Eatery in Mt. Shasta and Dunsmuir, and Rub-A-Dub-Dog Grooming in Red Bluff.

Cafe Coda — Chico (Owner, Eric Danielli)

It seems there would be a lot to consider when thinking about reopening during this pandemic, but Eric Danielli, the owner of Café Coda in Chico, said the uncertainty of the situation made his choice to stay closed for now an easy one.

On the decision to hold off on reopening 

To be honest, I don't really feel like the decision was very hard to make. Coming to terms with closing was tricky. But the decision to reopen is — it's a complicated one, and there's a lot of facets to how and when and why you choose to do that. Certainly money is an obstacle. Certainly the public health crisis is an obstacle. Certainly, there's the logistics of a restaurant that's been closed for — gosh, has it been three months yet? Two months? Time is kind of on a standstill right now. 

I met with my employees. And we had a meeting about two weeks ago, and we talked about this. And part of that was me asking them, ‘Hey, are we feeling confident about returning to work?’ And it was very much on the fence for everybody. Nobody was itching to come back to work. Many people didn't want to come back to work. As far as — not for me, but just given the circumstances — weren't feeling very competent about it being a good choice. I have a family at home, I have a wife that's now working from home, I have two kids who are finishing up school. All these things kind of just — it's not a race to reopen. And I feel like there is a whole spectrum of possibilities ahead of us right now. And many of them aren't good. Many of them end in failure. And until I can start to see those possibilities start to dwindle and I start to see some confidence in a chosen path, we're just going to wait until we feel that way.

So if this was the scientific process, this would be the observational stage. And I think that there's a lot to learn. And I think that there's a lot of mistakes to be made. And I just want to see how it all shakes out. 

On what a best-case scenario for Cafe Coda would be

I think that's pretty unclear. I think that if we open, it's really important that we don't close again. And the things that might make us close are far beyond my control. At least many of those things are far beyond my control. 

I want to see what happens before we go and just say, 'Hey, yeah, we're open.' Because there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that. - Eric Danielli, Owner of Cafe Coda in Chico

When we closed, that last weekend that we were open, it was really shocking to see the people in this restaurant, and how very clearly half a dozen of them were in this restaurant, doing the normal go to breakfast thing, obviously sick. And we are a busy restaurant and there's a lot of people in here and our quarters are close. And it was so disheartening to see that people weren't just staying home. I mean, it wasn't a secret at this point. This was like, March 15, March 12 even, and I just, I can't control the influx of people coming into this restaurant or what the state of their situation is. And if we were to have something like that come up where somebody tests positive, and yes, they were at Cafe Coda, I can imagine that that would require us going into quarantine. Or if one of my employees — same situation, even worse. So I can't control that. I can't predict it. 

There's still a lot of uncertainty as far as if our numbers are gonna keep going up or maybe even go up more swiftly. I want to see what happens before we go and just say, ‘Hey, yeah, we're open.’ Because there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that. And I just kind of cringe when people say, ‘Yeah, we're open. We're sanitizing everything and we're doing this and that.’ And it's all kind of a placebo or moot. How can you really say that you're doing what needs to be done with that much confidence? Yes, come in here, 75-year-old person. Come and eat breakfast just like normal because we're wiping down the menus and we're wiping down the door handles and we've reduced our seating. I just, I can't take that.

On whether employees have been able to get unemployment insurance

Yeah, I think they're all eligible. Some of them, it's taken a very long time for that to actually come through. But I'm sitting here looking at a stack of 19 unemployment forms. So yeah, I think everybody's ready to just wait it out with me. That's what they've indicated. We're going to reconvene and talk about where we're at right now, see how everybody's feeling about the prospect of reopening, the safety of reopening. 

Also, there's this other element, which is unfortunate, that some of them are making more money now on unemployment, and they'd be risking a significant pay cut coming back to work. And the complexities of the PPP program, which we have received, make that even more difficult because if I don't hit the marks on the terms that grant, then it turns into a loan. And that's not my goal. I'd rather give it back. My fear is that I would hire all these 19 people back and then in six weeks when the period comes to an end, and the money is no longer available to pay the employees through that program, I'll have to lay off half of them. And then they won't be able to claim unemployment again, because they already have. So it's a bit of a noose and it can either hang myself with it or I can hang them with it. I certainly won't do that. I won't do either. So I'll send it back. I'm very hopeful that these issues are being talked about and maybe they'll be fixed or adjusted, but it's too soon to tell — that's another reason why we're waiting.

Credit Facebook
The Allies Pub is currently offering dine-in, curbside and to-go options.

The Allies Pub – Chico (Owner, Stephen Kay)

Allies.mp3
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The Allies Pub, AKA British Bulldog Brewery, owned by Steve and Allison Kay, serves traditional English pub food and house-brewed, English-style beers and ales. They have provided to-go food during phase one of the state’s reopening, and now as the county progresses through phase two, have begun offering limited dine-in service. Stephen Kay first told Ken about the operational changes they’ve had to make in order to keep their doors open.

On what adjustments they’ve had to make to their business

Well, initially, all of our menu here, which is very traditional, kind of comfort British food — the mainstay of our menu here — were all designed to be made and served here on site. So the first thing we had to do is actually completely retool our inventory, retool what we did, and we had to go through some serious experimentation to turn what was a locally heated, crock pot pie into a take 'n' bake item. 

The pasties that we do, we had to figure out how to get them to be parbaked so they could be taken home and finished off in the oven. And then we had to simplify it so that we could do all of that, so that it wasn't going to be complex when it got home. It had to be single temperature in the oven just for a period of minutes. And it had to come out very, very well. So when people talk about putting on the COVID 15, I think we put on about 20 because we were practicing and trialing it all, and that took us at least two weeks to do that. 

Between that and cleaning the premises top to bottom and making sure the place was spotless, sort of clinically clean. We were literally out of business for two weeks. And then we started with this idea of a take 'n' bake menu.

On changes to staffing

The family's basically been running it: Myself, my wife, my son and my daughter. We haven't taken a penny and we've been basically trying to create a menu that would help to offset our ongoing overheads, because at the end of the day, everybody's in this boat. The landlord can't go without, we can't go without, you know, all of our suppliers, our insurance, utilities, they just keep on going. Deferral's one thing but you still end up having to pay to ferry man.

On what they’ve been able to offer customers and how dining is changing for phase two

We actually put out a survey when this all first happened in terms of the pickup and take out. We found that actually, of the people that responded to that survey, the delivery option was actually one of the least wanted. And to be honest, you've probably heard all the stories about who makes the money on the delivery systems anyway. It's never the restaurants. So from our perspective, that really wasn't something we looked forward to. We always predicted that probably June was when we would start to see sort of more employment from our furloughed staff. And we still see that as an opportunity. 

But in terms of this immediate phase two step, we had to basically go around and get the tape measure out and start measuring eight feet from head to head. And so we've had to space everything out. But now we're also moving towards reservation-style seating. Now we're actually having to move into a greeting and seeing you to the table reservation, and then we'll sort of service those tables as we move forward. 

On whether they’ve received any of the federal assistance available to businesses

I think the businesses that have tried to make it through this period have had to be very quick to change and quick to try and grab the essence of what was available, what was necessary, but also to make sure that you did something that was both ethically and morally correct - Stephen Kay, Owner of The Allies Pub in Chico

I did apply for the EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) loan, the emergency grant, and I applied for the PPP. The first round PPP didn't happen for all of the reasons that have been publicized, but I did secure some funding for that in the second round. And I did at the beginning of the second round also get my emergency grant, which has been very helpful. The biggest problem, I think, is the uncertainty of the rules and the fact that guidance and the policies are changing as we're literally going along trying to figure out how to utilize these loans. The basic loan on the EIDL — the idea was to be completely forgiven. And then at one point, SBA said, well, actually, if you have the EIDL, then you can't have that part of your PPP program forgiven. And then within the PPP program, there's certain percentages you can use with staff, there's certain percentages you can use for rent, etc. But they're also now looking at that and trying to figure out how to — I think ultimately, they're trying to figure out how to stop people just making the most out of it and not doing what was necessary by the loans. But it's making it kind of a tangle at this point, and nobody really knows what is going to be forgivable, and then the IRS also has their own ideas on exactly what that means and whether they're forgivable or whether they're actually just negative costs. 

I think the businesses that have tried to make it through this period have had to be very quick to change and quick to try and grab the essence of what was available, what was necessary, but also to make sure that you did something that was both ethically and morally correct. It's not just about opening up for personal gain. It's not just about opening up because you're going to go under. I think there's a balancing act here between providing service and protecting the business, protecting the economy. I hope we're walking that line as well as we can. 

We're just very, very grateful to all of the people that we garnered as a following in that short six months before we were closed down, and we're hopeful that as we move out of this thing, and we work towards a vaccination that we can slowly return to the idea of the pub, which is a meeting place for community, a place to talk about good, bad, ugly, and enjoy time.

Credit Facebook
Turtle Bay Exploration Park awaits Stage 3 of Governor Newsom's reopening plan.

Turtle Bay Exploration Park – Redding (Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Seth McGaha)

TurtleBay.mp3
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A major economic draw for the Redding area is Turtle Bay Exploration Park — comprised of 300 acres that includes a wildlife center, arboretum and botanical gardens, trails, and the Sundial Bridge. The nonprofit has in no way been immune to the financial impact of the pandemic according to Turtle Bay Marketing and Public Relations Director Seth McGaha. 

On how shelter-in-place has affected the park

The closure has affected tourism dramatically. We don't see anywhere close to the foot traffic on the pedestrian bridge that we normally see. We do still see some activity going on along the Sacramento River Trail and the sundial bridge, but the actual visitorship to our museum and the surrounding areas is at a halt.

On what’s remained open and what’s been closed

The outdoor trails, and the sundial bridge, and even the arboretum have remained open the entire time. Part of that area is regulated by the city. So that's not in the paid portion of Turtle Bay. The only parts that have been closed of the Turtle Bay campus are the paid portions, which includes the museum and the forest camp.

On what the timing for reopening might be

The timing is still really unclear. I mean, with us just moving into phase two, I think it'll be a lot to see how that goes. Our restaurants will be a part of that phase two opening, where we're going to try out some different limited dining opportunities, but as far as being a part of phase three in our actual opening, a lot of the things we're looking at are continuing to do the social distancing and the sanitation and all those measures in phase three. And considering different options like reduced hours or appointment-only where a family could come and experience the park for a predetermined period of time, which is not normally something that we do. So there are some different options on limiting the amount of people that can come into the park. Most likely, it'll be open to members first, and then we can phase that into opening it up to the public.

On whether they’ve received any of the federal assistance available to businesses

The one that I know of that we've received is the Paycheck Protection Act, which among a few things, covers our expenses for having full-time staff. And other than that, we're continually working on different grants that are based around providing educational resources for the community. And so one of the things that we've spent a lot of time on since being closed is developing our online presence and even our, what we call Turtle Bay TV. And it's our video segments that we produce in-house — different episodes that showcase our animals, our botanical gardens, in the light of education for all ages. So we've been really busy with producing a lot of our media. And then while also applying for grants. 

The thing that we are really most thankful for right now is the fact that people are renewing their membership, and they're becoming new members. And that's like the No. 1 way that you can show your support for local businesses is finding ways that you can support them financially furing this time. We're just really thankful for the opportunity to continue to work, even when the museum is closed. In some ways, we're more busy than ever, keeping up with all the different ways that we can stay connected with people.

Credit Facebook
YAKS Coffee & Eatery has locations in Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta and recently had to close the Redding location due to the pandemic.

Yaks Coffee & Eatery — Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta (Owner, Alyssa Williams)

Yaks.mp3
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YAKS Coffee & Eatery has locations in Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta. They recently had to close a location that was just being launched in Redding due to the pandemic.

On what’s been the hardest about navigating through the pandemic

I would say the hardest thing to negotiate has just been such a drastic shift. One day you're doing business as usual and the next day you're shut down. So it's not like it's something that you see coming. Like a typical recession, you see numbers dropping, dropping, dropping. This was like overnight, you're down 75-80%.

On the adjustments they’ve had to make

I would say that our burger model in Dunsmuir has been shut down 1,000%, because we're so based off of tourists there. And when there's no travel, you have no business. 

So our coffee and eatery model has been a little bit more set up for success, in the sense of it can also be ran with just one person, two people if needed. So that's been a definite benefit for that model. And quite a bit of people are already used to coming and grabbing their coffee or their bagels and burritos to go. So we are set up pretty well for that. Our numbers did drop a lot, but at least in Mt. Shasta we recovered fairly quickly, because our model's been through a recession before, so luckily, the founders knew exactly what we needed to do and we went into action pretty quickly.

On how business has been going since things have started to reopen

In Mt. Shasta, we've seen an increase in the tourist traffic. So that has helped us quite a bit. Redding, we were just barely establishing ourselves. So Redding didn't really get the luck that Mt. Shasta did. And Dunsmuir we've been totally shut down.

On the new Redding store that was just launched in January

We all know starting up a restaurant in general isn't easy. It takes a lot of resources, a lot of people, a lot of manpower. Our opening of Reddingwas very fast. We turn-keyed it and we were open within two weeks. Because it happened so fast, we didn't really get to do a whole lot of advertising. So people were still figuring out we were there. We were still building clientele. And for me, it being my first multiplication, there's a little bit of a learning experience there. But just as we were just establishing ourselves, to go from just slowly building to boom, cut overnight, we were barely making enough for our overhead. 

It's never a clear, easy decision to close a business, especially to a community that had missed us for so long. And we were so eager to be back. But when you're losing money so fast every day, you really have to sit back and look at OK, how long can we do this? How much of a hole can we get in to try to save this? 

My dream is to come back to Redding. - Yaks Coffee & Eatery Owner, Alyssa Williams

Honestly, when it first happened, we all went to fight-or-flight mode, where what one of our stores are going to make it? Are we going to lose them all? What do we have to do? It was my first time ever seeing my numbers so low, so I thought I was gonna lose everything. And that's the risk that you take being in the restaurant industry is things go up and down. It really made us look at our model and made me appreciate our coffee and eatery model even more just because of the capabilities it has. We can go from working five people on the floor to one and to be able to make, when a lot of places are losing. 

My dream is to come back to Redding. We're getting ready to open a model in Mount Shasta. It's just been pretty difficult with the build out of it. But the goal is for us to combine models, and that is ultimately the model that I would like to come back to Redding with. And I see all that's happening in downtown Redding. So my dream would be able to be to come back to downtown Redding with the models combined.

Credit Facebook
The Redding dog grooming business remains open during the pandemic.

Rub-A-Dub-Dog Grooming — Red Bluff (Owner, Erin Eusted)

RubaDog.mp3
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Rub-A-Dub-Dog Groomingowner Erin Eusted says she’s weathered the last several months with help from her landlord and clients who’ve paid for future appointments and said luckily the guidelines for reopening have been workable.

On how reopening guidelines have changed the business

For us, they aren't too much different than business as usual. We've always been by appointment. And so we only have one person in the shop at a time anyway. There's only myself and one other employee here. So it's very easy for us to be distanced.

On how business is doing now 

This is our busiest time of year in the North State for grooming, because of the weather. We were already a month booked out before the shutdown happened. I have a huge surplus of business, and I don't really know what to do with them because there's only so many hours in the day and this is one of those things where we are definitely limited by the physical hours.

On whether they’ve received any of the federal assistance available to businesses

I did receive a $1,000 grant, because I only have one employee, I was only eligible for $1,000 payroll grant. And then, lucky me, I have some credit cards that I wasn't able to make payments on while we were closed, and so that messed up my credit. And then the government ran the credit check for the Payroll Protection Loan and I was denied, because I had some 30-day lates on there, thanks to not having any income. So all we've gotten is that $1,000 grant. 

On concerns about another possible shutdown

That's always a possibility, especially since our governor is very cautious on that front. I think in our county, we only had two cases. So I don't know, I would hope that he would, instead of doing this across the board statewide shutdown, that it would be more regionally applied, because, you know, some counties are being affected by this much more strongly than our area is.

I had some customers pay for their appointments that they missed, even though we weren't able to help them. They made up pay for the missed appointments anyway. - Erin Eusted, Owner of Rub-A-Dub-Dog Grooming

On making up for lost ground

My landlords have been great, understanding. I wasn't able to pay as normal during that time. And so they were understanding about that.Our customers and our community have been fantastic. I had some customers pay for their appointments that they missed, even though we weren't able to help them. They made up pay for the missed appointments anyway.

We are a business that operates on relationships. And so we spent years with some of these customers, cultivating relationships with them and trust them and they have really been a source of support during this time and in our reopening.

Ken came to NSPR through the back door as a volunteer, doing all the things that volunteers do. Almost nothing – nothing -- in his previous work experience suggests that he would ever be on public radio.
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