03/21/2020
I hope this doesn't seem petty, but I feel this needs to be said. This is partially in response to the person that posted this nasty message on our page, but also to anyone else that thinks along these lines.
If you think we are greedy you have no idea what you're talking about. In one sense we have no need to placate you, but in another these are some things that need to be considered.
We are debt free. We owe only our weekly grocery bills, utilities, and employee wages. Our home, vehicles, and business are paid off. We are not lazy and we aren't irresponsible. We would love to have the downtime. We work 80+ hours per week. We would be happy to go home, play with our dogs, and get some much needed yardwork and housekeeping done.
What about our employees? Some of them are just starting out in life and stressing about what they are going to do. We don't know how long this is going to last and don't know really what to tell them. They are looking to us for answers. They won't go hungry, but what about everything else? We are open FOR THEM. We will pay them a wage until we are forced to close. We don't just have an employer/employee relationship here. We are a team. We are a family.
We have patrons that we know on a first name basis. Over the years we have had many whose spouse have passed leaving them widowers. Many don't cook and go out to eat for at least one meal per day. We are also here FOR THEM.
We don't serve many dine-ins right now. We have removed several dining tables and chairs to help spread our patrons out. We have a "crash cart" full of disinfectants and supplies and ensuring that we disinfect every table, every chair, after every guest.
We are taking as many carry out orders as possible.
We are all going to feel these effects. None of us will come out of this unscathed. We will all suffer to some degree. But, we won't be out of the game. Many years of hard work and determination and doing what we can to be debt free has prepared us as much as possible for this season in our lives. We are all in this together. We'll do what we can to help each other in these times.
And lastly, when everyone starts receiving their stimulus checks in the coming weeks or months remember something. The government isn't providing this for you. They don't just go print more money or checks and that's that. It is the small businesses across all of America that pay their taxes monthly, quarterly, and yearly that funds this. Small businesses do not get the tax breaks that corporations receive. If all small business in the U.S. cease to be, we would collapse. That's a fact, Jack!
