Struggling to Survive
Butler County restaurant, bar and venue owners picked up the pieces Friday after Gov. Tom Wolf's decision for further mitigation efforts.
Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday that reduced restaurants' indoor capacity to 25 percent, completely shut down businesses serving only alcohol and reduced indoor gatherings to 25 people.
“My initial reaction was just a shaking of the head,” said Dan Coss, owner of Missing Links Brewery in Connoquenessing Township. “It just made me sit here and wonder why and who is making these decisions.”
Wednesday's announcement came despite promises from state officials to avoid sweeping changes as coronavirus cases continued to climb in the state.
Butler County added nine confirmed cases to its total of 412 throughout the pandemic, according to Thursday's report by the state Department of Health.
“We are looking at all of our case counts very carefully throughout the state,” said state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in a news conference Monday. “We do not plan at this time to use those dramatic statewide measures.”
Coss said businesses will now have to find a way to use the excess products they ordered unknowingly. He said his business will have to be more careful to follow the letter of the law, specifically by making sure to serve food to every customer ordering a drink. New rules demand that food must accompany alcohol on every receipt.
“There's confusion everywhere,” he said.
In an unrelated news conference Thursday, Wolf said the order was necessary, despite not having data to support the need to close restaurants, bars and venues specifically.
“The point is that with what we know, that's where we saw the outbreak,” Wolf said. “That's where people were congregating together, and that's where they were coming into close contact with one another.”
<h3>Struggling tourism</h3>Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said the latest of Wolf's orders has continued the devastation brought by the pandemic on the tourism industry.“It totally is destroying them,” Cohen said. “I understand we want to be safe, but you can't lose sight of the people who own these businesses.”Cohen estimated the county has more than 150 restaurants, and he also estimated that 30 percent to 40 percent of them could close by the end of the pandemic. He said the margins of the restaurant business are too low to afford 25 percent capacity.Cohen said business owners have told him they are doing everything they can and following the rules. He said all businesses who are not following the rules should be punished, but not through sweeping measures.“Gov. Wolf is doing his best to try to keep people safe,” Cohen said. “I applaud him for that, but not at the expense of people who have worked so long and so hard here in our county.”<h3>Left in the wake</h3>Sarah Zediker and her husband, Terry Rottman, owners of Hiland Golf Course in Oakland Township, said they felt like they were being punished, even after following the rules.Rottman said their business has and will continue to operate by the book throughout the pandemic. Even though they had strict sanitization practices before the pandemic, they have moved into extreme measures ever since.“We're probably spending over $1,000 a week just trying to meet these guidelines for COVID-19,” he said. “Everything has to be sanitized all day, every day.”Zediker said Wolf's decision was inconsiderate to local businesses, especially coming without warning. She said she felt especially bad for new businesses.“Fortunately, our business has been established for 66 years, but there's many people who just spent their life savings buying into a business and starting a business,” Zediker said. “I think they're going to struggle to survive.”Sherry Lynn, owner of the Atrium in Franklin Township, said the lack of warning caused her phone to ring off the hook from customers wondering if their planned events can still take place.She said she has a few events scheduled this weekend, all of which are safe under the new guidance, but she will now have to make sure other scheduled events are considered safe. She said it is easier to schedule events days, weeks or months in advance when you are aware of the rules ahead of time.“I would like some warning and some clarity from these announcements,” Lynn said.Lynn said her business has struggled, seeing more than 80 percent loss so far this year. She said it's been an incentive to not lose any more customers. She said she will do whatever it takes to prevent canceling any more events.“It's been very stressful for everybody, especially weddings,” Lynn said. “I know there are a lot of other venues that canceled their events, but we're trying very hard to not cancel anything.”<h3>Call to improve</h3>Wolf's recent order did not go unnoticed by the state Legislature.Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, said she was “frustrated and disappointed” in the governor's decision.“The governor should not punish our family taverns and restaurants who have met his requirements to provide a safe and healthy environment for customers,” Mustello said.Mustello said this lack of consideration is a sign of “his true feelings toward our restaurants, bars and small businesses.“We must continue to put pressure on the governor,” Mustello said. “Our economy depends on it.”Cohen said he wants to see legislators and the governor work better together to resolve such issues. He said one idea for improving the situation would be to use state or federal funding to offset the lost business for those who have reduced capacity.“(The state) should pay the other 25 percent of the business taken away,” Cohen said. “It would be a token of good will toward them that he does care about them during these tough times.”Cohen said he hopes Wolf considers his ideas and those of his peers in the tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.“We can help. That's why we're here,” he said. “It's a commitment from everybody. They're willing to help because they want people to be healthy too.”Jordan Grady, executive director of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, said these types of businesses will continue to need the support of the local community. Some options still remain, although limited. Outdoor dining rules have stayed the same, as have cocktails-to-go.“It's going to take this entire community coming together to keep them alive,” Grady said. “We're all in this together, and we have to pull together to support our small businesses.”
