About The Forest-blade. (Swainsboro, Ga.) 1996-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2021)
6A The Forest-Blade • ummiEmaniielConntyLive.com • Swainsboro, Georgia • February 10, 2021 The Road Ahead: 10 months after COVID comes to town business owner Wilkes speaks out By Deborah Clark Regional Editor, The Advance, Vidalia, Ga Without doubt, the infusion of federal dol lars kept communities afloat during the health pandemic in 2020, and financial experts project that Georgia's economy will remain resilient in 2021. Area real estate bro kers celebrated a stel lar year in 2020. House construction and prop erty sales reached a new zenith. Food service found a way to keep going— through take out and delivery—but the hospitality indus try took a real hit and has not recovered. Big box stores, considered essential, boomed and sales tax soared. The revenue raked in by liquor retailers prompt ed one local official to quip that taxes from liquor sales were hold ing up the local econ omy. Municipalities ended the year with positive numbers— again because of federal infusions. Banks report ed a decline in over drafts and an increase in personal savings accounts. Now, with the second round of the Payroll Protection Program underway and the promise of more fed eral funding for the state through the sec ond stimulus package, the road ahead doesn't look too dismal - at least on paper. But with a new presidential exec utive order for a $15 per hour minimum wage as some businesses barely hang on, what does the remainder of 2021 real ly look like? In May of 2020, The Advance polled a group of local business owners who were just emerging from abrupt closures in March. The various ways they approached getting back to busi ness were varied, but they were all united in their determination to weather the storm. When the pandem ic struck, Wes Wilkes, owner of Hardware Pizza in Lyons said his restaurant reinvented itself. Wilkes took stock of not only the status of his business but also the welfare of the com munity. He kept serv ing customers through takeout service and also turned his restaurant into a community mar ket. Since people were not permitted to dine inside because of pan demic protocol, Wilkes began to offer items that customers were having trouble finding in the grocery stores. He sold French fries, beef, chicken breasts, chicken fingers, sugar, flour, and yes, toilet paper. In one of the oddities of the early days of the pandemic, panic buying emptied the shelves at even the big box stores of the commodity. Wilkes said of the service he pro vided customers as the pandemic struck, "We are still stocking some items, but the commu nity market has pretty much played itself out." Additionally, during the early days of the pandemic, Wilkes launched "Hardware to Go," a service that offered entrees for two that were available as WILKES IN THE KITCHEN takeouts and could be cooked at home. He also implemented "Heroes and Pizza," an undertaking that hon ored front-line med ical workers and first responders. The project offered 10 pizzas for $100 and many commu nity members stepped up and bought pizzas to feed local heroes. "We made about 300 pizzas for 30 communi ty events," Wilkes said. He also opened outside dining until health pro tocol prohibited that. "We tried to push the envelope to keep things as normal as possible because it's a tough time and we need nor malcy," he said in the May interview. Now in the first month of 2021, every day life is hardly back to normal for most, but Hardware Pizza's owner is encouraged. "We are still seeing the effects of COVID, but a lot of our business has returned and that has been a pleasure and a blessing." Since he was interviewed in May, Wilkes has maintained a safe, socially-distanced dining room, but that was not hard to accom plish in his spacious venue. "Under health code guidelines we are running a reduced-size dining area with fewer chairs, but the spac ing of our tables goes beyond health guide lines. We are proud that people can come in here and sit comfortably." At this point, Hardware Pizza's in-house dining sales have eclipsed the take out service. "We took our biggest hit the last of March and first of April in 2020. We have been on a steady incline since then," a fact for which Wilkes express es gratitude. "So many businesses are strug gling." During the pandem ic, Wilkes was able to keep all employees who wanted to stay, but like Owens at Steeplechase, he admits to having difficulty in finding workers. "We are in a constant process of hir ing to improve staff. There is a lack of peo ple wanting to work." Wilkes thinks the man date for $15 per hour minimum wage will put a strain on all busi nesses. "It's good for people to come out of poverty levels, but for businesses, it cuts into their income. Business owners will say maybe it's time to raise prices." He elaborated, "A lot of businesses operate on a very fine margin. A mandatory increase in minimum wage will hurt the businesses if they are not able to manage sales and the costs of goods. I see it (prices) all going up. It is the only way to sur vive." Wilkes said he tells his employees, "The harder you work, the more I pay. I want to keep you here." He said he is not really interest ed in applying for the PPP right now. "We are all sitting around wait ing to see what new administration will do. They're already squab bling in Washington. It's so hard to predict." The restaurant owner agreed that employ ers will have to do what they are mandat ed to do, so for now, he will take each day as it comes. "But you have to have a vision for the future or you will always be in a day- to-day operation and that's not where we want to be." He said he is always looking to hire and innovate, find new ways to satisfy his customers, and increase business. But for him, it's more about quality than quantity. "There is a buffer line. We have a small kitchen and there is only so much busi ness we can do out of that kitchen." Wilkes has been uplifted as he has seen customers return, but admits, "It's hard to pre dict whether more peo ple will be coming back out after getting used to staying at home. We are prepared to go back to takeout if that is what is required. We will weather the storm that is COVID." Emanuel Healthcare Center Weekend Clinic NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK On the Second Floor •Non-Emergency Conditions •Shorter Waiting •Sick Visits •Sports & Employment Physicals Monday through Friday 8:30AM-5:00PM Saturday 10:00AM-6:00PM Sunday 1:00PM-6:00PM MANUEL 117 Kite Road MEDICAL CENTER 478"289"1 240 with you. Construction. Remodel. 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