It's been more than two years since Alexis Percival and her business partner closed Kindred, an Italian restaurant in New York City.
“And it's a shame that our sign is still there. And the door that I personally painted is still the same color,” she said, staring at the bright teal door – the restaurant. It's a shock of color against the brown paper that covers the window.
When the pandemic shut down businesses in 2020, Kindred was new and just finding its footing.
“We were just starting to turn a profit, which is unheard of for a restaurant for five months,” Percival said.
With COVID-19, that black has returned to red. And like all businesses trying to avoid closure, Percival kept pivoting.
“Even after all these years, I’m still tired of hearing that word,” she said.
Kindred became a market and then a co-working space. That has allowed restaurants to hold out until a coronavirus vaccine arrives and customers feel safe.
“It was like a return to semi-normalcy,” Percival said. “People were so excited and so relieved. They were like, 'Okay, this is great.' ”
However, that feeling didn't last long. Business has had its ups and downs. Kindred was scheduled to receive a $100,000 employee retention tax credit from the IRS, but that was postponed. Percival and her partner fell behind on their rent. And what was close to their minds was their investors, primarily friends and family.
“And that responsibility weighs heavily,” Percival said. “There are a lot of people who invest small amounts of money. But for them, it's not a small amount.”
That was part of why the decision to close the restaurant was so difficult. In August 2022, Percival and his partners held their last dinner service, but they still operate a wine bar called Ruffian a few blocks away.
It's unclear how many businesses have closed over the past few years because the Bureau of Labor Statistics lags data. But the pandemic is still having a domino effect on small businesses. While many of them survived what seemed to be the toughest days during business restrictions and before the arrival of vaccines, many of them also failed.
Becky Cooper and her husband opened Bounce Milwaukee 10 years ago when they were struggling to find family-friendly activities. Her husband thought: “What if we opened our own entertainment center?”
“And I said, 'I hate those places.' I hate Chuck E. Cheese. I hate these trampoline parks,” Cooper said.
But her husband persisted and dreamed up a business involving rock climbing, laser tag, and bouncy castles.
“And I was finally able to get an SBA. [Small Business Administration] “I got the loan the same day and my pregnancy test came back positive,” Cooper said.
That was child number four. Ten years later, and post-pandemic, business has never been better. But recently, Cooper's landlord increased his rent by 50%. This is far more than she can afford.
This concludes Bounce Milwaukee. Cooper said the business has had its ups and downs, but it hasn't hurt and he's happy with the work he's done. She plans to look for her job at a nonprofit organization. And in a way, she seems a little relieved that she's not the boss anymore.
“I would really appreciate it if someone could make all the decisions and tell me what to do,” she said.
Each closed store seems to have its own story. Either they couldn't make the rent or they couldn't bring back enough customers. Jimmy Sweeney, owner of the Grand Berry Theater in Fort Worth, Texas, said he knew he was in trouble when he threw an Oscar party in 2021 and three people showed up.
“And that was a moment like, oh, this is still going to be a lot more uphill than we thought,” he said.
Grand Berry Theater screened its last film in March 2022.
“After the door closed and the last employee left, I remember just sitting there and crying a little bit,” he said.
Since the theater closed, the Sweeneys have sold their belongings and are traveling with their 3-year-old child until they decide on their next steps. They are in Italy now. And in some ways, he said, this new lifestyle is entrepreneurial.
“There's an essential essence to traveling and living the way we do,” Sweeney says.
He said he loves running his own business. But it was also stressful. And while it was tough to close, he has no problem moving forward.
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