Local restaurants struggle to survive

Local small businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Many have been forced to make hard and fast adjustments to stay open or in hopes of reopening in the future.

Gumby’s Pizza in San Marcos has had to rapidly adjust with creative solutions, according to owner Forrest Higdon.

“It’s been head-spinning, that’s for sure. I've always thought we were creative but this has definitely stretched the bounds of what we thought we would have to do in the beginning,” Higdon said. “Everything that we did is kind of out the window and we're facing new challenges every day. And it's been our challenge to try and find solutions to new problems that show up every day — from when we had to shut down our dining room for social distancing to anticipating sheltering in place and trying to get people to stay home and figuring out how can we help facilitate what's good for the community while still continuing to operate a business that keeps my staff employed and food on the table for everyone involved.”

Gumby’s has created several solutions to stay open and keep feeding people. One of their first offers was an at home pizza kit for just $9.50 to help keep kids entertained and families fed. 

They also started offering $35 grocery boxes that come with 2 lbs of ground beef, four chicken breasts, 1 dozen eggs, 1 lb of broccoli florets, 2 lbs of potatoes, 1 gallon of whole milk and one loaf of bread. But Higdon said they also wanted to ensure those that couldn’t afford groceries wouldn’t be left without so they started a free grocery box sign up form and are taking donations for those that would like to buy a grocery box for someone in need.

To order a Gumby’s grocery box, fill out their Google form. To sign up for a free grocery box, fill out their online form. To donate towards a free grocery box for someone in need, go to Gumby’s online ordering website, click pick-up, and order a pay-it-forward box under the grocery tab.

Higdon said that he is thankful that, as a pizza restaurant, they were set up for delivery since they started, so when dine-in was no longer an option, they could easily implement curbside pickup and continue delivery. But even with that advantage, the restaurant has taken a hit of about 50-60 percent from what their sales were last year, according to Hidgon.

Seth and Chase Katz, owners of local eateries and hot spots like Dos Gatos, North Street, Pie Society and Zelicks, announced on their social media Thursday that they would be ceasing operations at all their businesses.

“Over the last two weeks we have tried our best to operate our establishments in a way that was safe for both our team and the community. Our staff came to work each day trying their best to deliver the quality experience that you expect from us. You spent your scarce dollars, when you weren't even sure about your own economic safety, to try your hardest and support local businesses,” the post said. “However, the time has come that we absolutely need to make our staff and the communities safety the first priority and cease operations at all of our establishments effective today.”

The Katz brothers said they felt it was the right thing to do and that when the pandemic ended they would be excited to reopen our doors. 

Monte Sheffield, owner of Palmer’s, said making adjustments to all the rapidly-changing circumstances has been a source of constant worry for him as a business owner.

“The biggest thing has just been the frustration of the unknown,” Sheffield said. “There are just all these unknowns and the stress is just coming into a new day, after you're recovering from yesterday with all the changes, and the brand new day comes along and you can't do what you've planned on doing. Everyday is a different game plan. It’s been frustrating.”

Sheffield said March and April were always big months for Palmer’s financially, but compared to last year’s sales, they are down by approximately 70 percent. The loss in revenue has caused him to have to get creative — offering grocery boxes with recipe kits, curbside pickup and delivery.

Sheffield said that Palmer's has started offering a limited amount of “quarantine kits" that come with different kinds of meat, produce and eggs and milk as well as recipe ingredients and instructions. Add-ons like beer, wine, bacon and coffee can also be added to the kit for an additional price. Palmer’s quarantine kits are $60 each and can be preordered via call or text message to Kristin Sheffield at 512-775-7770. To get up-to-date information on current quarantine kit offerings, check the Palmer’s Facebook page. 

Palmer’s will also be open with a limited menu and limited hours starting Monday, according to Sheffield. The new hours are Monday through Saturday from 12 - 7:30 p.m. Orders will be available for curbside pickup in the parking lot or delivery only. The limited menu offers a lot of Palmer’s originals like crab cakes, pecan crusted chicken and the Spicy Mary Burger. 

Sheffield said he’s trying to keep a positive outlook and focus on when the pandemic ends.

“We've been here since 1978,” Sheffield said. “And we’ve got to do what we can to maintain being open and focus on wowing the socks off people when we do reopen.”

But he also wanted residents to know the measures that small businesses are undertaking to stay open aren’t for novelty, but for survival.

“What we are doing isn’t a novelty,” Sheffield said. “All these things restaurants are doing to keep open isn’t a novelty, it’s survival. We’re just trying to survive.”