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."
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