Level 3 means older Ohioans and those with medical conditions associated with COVID-19 complications should consider avoiding unnecessary contact with others, such as social gatherings, said Dan Tierney, spokesman for the governor’s office. At Level 4, the advisory would change to encourage residents to stay home except for essential activities, such as going to work, going to the doctor, and getting groceries or other goods and services, according to the governor’s office.
Debra Neal, co-owner and manager of Neal's Famous BBQ, said she and her husband Mike, the Hamilton restaurant's founder, have been following statewide developments to see if restaurants would again be shut down or face any restrictions under a Level 4.
“We are aware and it is a little scary if that happens,” Neal said. “All we can do is keep praying and have faith in God that it wouldn’t affect our business.”
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When Ohio shut down indoor dining in March, Neal’s shifted to a carryout-only model, which worked out well for the business but ended up reducing revenue, she said.
Being under a Level 4 advisory could mean limitations when it comes to the restaurant’s clientele and its supply chain, Neal said.
It also could have an adverse effect on staffing. The business, which had 10 employees before the first surge in coronavirus, is down to six, partially because some of the remaining four employees moved on to other jobs and partially because the business cannot yet get itself back to full staffing, she said.
Ella Huang, the owner of Taku Japanese Steakhouse in Middletown, said while she is worried the state may require restaurants to again shut down indoor dining, she is willing to accept that decision.
“I will do whatever the state says because (if) they have that concern, that means (whatever they enact is) the best way to protect all of us” Huang said. “As a restaurant, if they shut it down, of course it’s hurting us but we can’t do anything about it.”
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The restaurant shut down for 45 days following the March 15 mandate, during which it offered full pay to its eight full-time employees. It reopened with to-go service in early May and then for full service when the state allowed it later that month.
Business at the restaurant is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. It started off with the reopening of indoor dining at about half of what it was before and remains there, Huang said.
Carryout only constituted a small portion of revenue prior to the pandemic, it now comprises more than 50 percent of the restaurant’s business, she said.
Jim Sparnall, co-owner of Aquatic & Garden Decor in West Chester Twp., said while he remains concerned about the possibility of a Level 4 status taking a bite out of revenues, "it's gonna be what it's gonna be."
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“We’re just doing what we we can do. Can’t do anything more than that,” said Sparnall, who owns the business with his wife, Carey.
The business is deemed an essential one. While it never closed it “absolutely felt the impact” of coronavirus stay-at-home order, Sparnell said. Any Level 4 suggestion for people to avoid many activities would definitely mean a similar effect, he said.
“With us being in the gardening industry, it’s kind of like a Home Depot or a Lowe’s, so we all felt it (the coronavirus-related slowdown) and then we all felt the impact of people staying at home and doing a lot of stuff,” Sparnell said. “It’s been really peaks and valleys. It’s a very unstable, not fun roller coaster.”
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