‘I fully expect the winter to be hard’: How Greater Lafayette small businesses are responding to rise in COVID cases – Journal & Courier

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Customers shop inside Retail Therapy, 1005 Main St., Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020 in Lafayette.(Photo: Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier)

LAFAYETTEFor some small businesses, the period of holiday shopping through November and December brings some of the biggest sales of the year.

And in the last few months of a difficult and unprecedented year that has included the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses, including Retail Therapy in Lafayette, were looking to safely bring shoppers into their stores.

So, Alicia Dunbar, Retail Therapys owner, took matters into her own hands, along with other downtown merchants by creating and promoting The Great Downtown Holiday Shopping Extravaganza.

The event was held in downtown Lafayette Wednesday evening, and for a few hours, 25 retailers remained open past their normal closing time and offered their goods and services to holiday shoppers.

Dunbar said she was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came out to shop, noticing both familiar faces and new ones inside her boutique store.

Alot of people came out because something was organized, Dunbar said. It was a good start, and I hope we can keep the momentum going.

Some businesses have been able to respond by changing the delivery of their services, including pivoting or further promoting online sales and carryout and delivery, especially for food and drinks.

Even as businesses like Retail Therapy are doing their best to combat fears from shoppers over the coronavirus and exude excitement about shopping locally, Michael Hicks, a distinguished professor of economics and business research at Ball State University, said the coming months will likely not bring any major change or relief.

(The) bottom line is that no matter how businesses respond, the next 120 (to) 180 days will be very grim, Hicks said. We are in a deep and now unavoidable downturn.

Dunbar is among those working to counter that. She said she ishoping to continue hosting events in partnership with other downtown retailers to continually draw people into those small businesses through the winter and into the spring.

Dunbar opened her business in June, as restrictions surrounding earlier state stay-at-home orders began to cease. Even as she is not immediately concerned about capacity limits the store is the former Fuel Coffee space on 1005 Main St., and Dunbar said there are usually no more than two to three people inside at a time ongoing street construction and sidewalk projects have made it difficult for customers to parkand enter her store.

As far as the pandemic goes, things have been really good for us, Dunbar said. People dont want to go to a big store, and most of their dressing rooms are closed. From that standpoint, people are trying to keep their community aliveand are more willing to shop local than before. But the construction out front was a nightmare it killed business for six weeks.

Dunbar, and Retail Therapy, is just one among many businesses in the Greater Lafayette area preparing for a winter full of unknowns. As small businesses are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst

Cases in Tippecanoe County and around Indiana continue to climb to unprecedented levels. On Tuesday, the Tippecanoe County Health Department issued a new set of public health orders that will go into effect if the countys seven-day positivity rate for all COVID-19 tests equals or exceeds 10%.

Under the order, which is in addition to requirements found in a recent executive order from Gov. Eric Holcomb, retail businesses would go from a current 100% capacity to a more limited, 75% capacity. Bars would be limited to 25% indoor capacity and restaurants to 50% capacity indoors.

As of Friday, the order had not yet gone into effect. According to state data, Tippecanoe County reported 220 new positive cases and a seven-day positivity rate for all tests at 9.3%.

Hicks, said the real danger to small businesses is not restrictions from governments, but rather the COVID-19 virus itself.

It is the disease, not government efforts to stop the disease that generated the downturn in the economy, Hicks said in an email. That should worry businesses in Lafayette, because the disease is spreading quickly and extensively.

Hicks said regardless of what the state or local governments decide to do, it will be a very bad few months for the Indiana economy.

Even as Indiana's unemployment is down compared to earlier in the year with a 5% unemployment rateOctober versus 12.3% in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Hicks said it is not a good measure of overall economic performance because of a large increase in low hour, part-time work and the loss of the labor force.

The rising cases and possibility of new restrictions are daunting, especially for places like Linnwood Tavern in Lafayette's north end. When the stay-at-home order began in March, Linnwood Tavern tried to stay open through carryout ordersbut eventually closed its doors completely until reopening again in July.

Weve been knocking on wood ever since we reopened, owner Greg Glotzbach said.

Glotzbach said the neighborhood bar on 1244 N. 14th St. is classified as a restaurant due to its menu options. The Linnwood Tavern has seen a slowdown in the number of people coming inside, which he correlated with worry about rising cases in the county. If the new county health order goes into place, Linnwoods capacity would be reduced to 50% indoors, and the dance floor would also have to close.

It seems like each time they talk about a higher number and cases being worse, Glotzbach said, referring to the data accumulated by the state, we see a slower day or two. But people want social interaction, and theyre also just bored.

Even while looking at the record-breaking number of cases in Indiana,Glotzbach said he would be surprised to see the state make adecision to shut down in any way remotely like the original stay-at-home orders in March.

"A lot of us bar and restaurant owners, we've all tried to do what we've been expected to do with all rules and regulations," Glotzbach said."But I keep hearing over and overonce customers come in and have that interaction with other people, it makes them feel like the world is back tonormal."

Some businesses, like Rveille Coffee Bar, have only opened recently and have only operated in the midst of the pandemic.

Michelle Wise, owner of Rveille Coffee Bar, stands inside her Main Street coffee bar, Friday, Nov. 20, 2020 in Lafayette.(Photo: Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier)

Owner Michelle Wise, who also co-owns the Cellar Wine Bistro with her sister, Marla Milner, said the coffee shop on 835 Main St. opened quietly three weeks ago but has been steadily picking up steam ever since.

I dont fear winter that much, as its typically a busier time for downtown restaurants, but with COVID, its very scary, Wise said.

The interior of Wises French-themed coffee shop on Main Street already has a small indoor capacity of around 18 people at a time, although she said many come inside just for to-go orders.

The honest truth is that I dont know how many places can survive on 50%, Wise said, referring to restaurant capacities should the countys restrictions go into place. Its going to be really touch and go, but Ill have to push carryout and deliveries and get on by that. I think the other restaurants and such downtown will probably try do to the same thing. Im not sure what else we can do.

Wise said the Cellar Wine Bistro had previously applied for and used a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program from the Small Business Administration, which was mainly used for employee retention. She said she would consider applying for one again, should it become available once more.

Thats really how we survived, Wise said.

Recently, the city of Lafayette brought back a program from earlier in the year, which allowed downtown restaurants to have designated spaces for customers picking up carryout orders. During the fall, the city also instituted Fresh Air Eats, which closed downtown streets to traffic over several weekends and allowed for outdoor, socially distanced dining.

Including the changes brought on by the pandemic, Mad Love Boutique in downtown Lafayette also just finished moving spaces from Sixth Street around the corner to a much larger location on 609 Main St. The new space is much larger, owner Stephanie Deckard said, and will be much more accommodating to allow customers to be inside the store while keeping social distancing.

Stephanie Deckard, owner of Mad Love Boutique, stands inside her Main Street boutique, Friday, Nov. 20, 2020 in Lafayette.(Photo: Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier)

The Sixth Street store was really tiny, and there were a few times customers left the store because they werent comfortable, Deckard said. The new store has a lot more space for people to spread out, and it shouldnt be an issue any longer.

But sales have been down overall this year for Deckard, especially when compared to last year, she said, with the boutique doing about one-fifth of the sales as compared to 2019.

I fully expect the winter to be hard, Deckard said.

And in nearby Delphi, where Carroll County has reported a seven-day positivity rate for all tests on Friday at 12.1%, some small businesses are fighting with online retail giants like Amazon to attract customers and keep their storefronts alive.

That includes Tricia Mendel, owner of Hometown Shirts and Graphix on 101 S. Washington St., who recently revamped her store selling custom T-shirts to become a one stop shop in an attempt to draw customers away from online retailers and bigger chain stores. In addition to T-shirts, the store now also offers gifts and home dcor.

Mendel said many Delphi and other Carroll County business owners are worried about what is to come, especially as cases climb and politics become involved when making decisions that affect businesses on every level be it local, statewide or nationally.

I think if people are only online shopping and arent supporting small businesses now, when you go to look for those small businesses next time they wont be there, Mendel said. Its been one thing after another for us, and people need to support small businesses now more than ever.

Emily DeLetter is a news reporter for the Journal & Courier. Contact her at (765) 201-8515 or via email at edeletter@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyDeLetter.

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'I fully expect the winter to be hard': How Greater Lafayette small businesses are responding to rise in COVID cases - Journal & Courier