Athens businesses struggle through pandemic, hopeful for the future

Casa Nueva is one of many businesses in Athens to be affected by coronavirus shutdowns Photo by Sarah Donaldson.

Local businesses in Athens have been hit hard since the first statewide coronavirus shutdown in March. Even with external funding support from programs such as the Athens County Small Business Relief Fund program, many local shops were still struggling to stay open and make profits.

While the availability of sit-in services may soon rise with the announcement of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, owners are still trying to keep their businesses safe and healthy.

Casa Nueva 

“My co-owners and I have done our best to remain positive and do all we can with the revenue streams that are available to us,” said Grace Corbin, the marketing coordinator for popular Athens restaurant Casa Nueva.

Corbin said the coronavirus pandemic has forced Casa Nueva to get creative. 

“We just started delivery systems, which we have never really considered before,” she said.

Corbin added that Casa Nueva has had more time to renovate its business and rethink its in-house set up.

The temporary closure allowed Casa Nueva to maximize carry-out areas, spread out preparation areas and keep social distancing within the restaurant; all operational shifts that the businesses had wanted to make since opening.

Corbin said she believes if Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine were to mandate another lockdown, Casa Nueva would fare better than before because of these shifts.

“We have had this strange opportunity to do these things we’ve wanted to do for a long time but never had the chance because of timing and business levels,” Corbin said.

Little Professor Book Center

“Business has been better since the very beginning, but has still not been as great as before quarantine,” said Nicholas Pollishelli, owner of The Little Professor.

The Little Professor saw a huge loss in business during August and September, the months Ohio University students typically purchase books from the store.

“Our yearly sales are about 50% of what they are from last year,” he said.

Pollishelli said if DeWine reinstates a lockdown, it will be hard to gauge how business will be. Before the pandemic, however, he already created an informal system of delivering books to customers with mobility problems, which has made the transition a little smoother.

“The bigger issue is that as the town’s finances are impacted, that has an affect on us, even if we are able to maintain our complete functionality through the lockdown,” Pollishelli said. “Our used books, which we have more of a selection of now, only really function in an in-person format.” 

With COVID-19 safety measures in place, Pollishelli said he now has a better procedure to deliver books, including a store cell phone to help customers have more access to ordering books for delivery than before.

He said sales of readable classics have gone up due to the familiarity of the titles and authors. But because customers do not associate any personal reviews with new authors, Pollishelli said they are harder to sell. 

Donkey Coffee

Chris Pyle, co-owner of Donkey Coffee, said that although Donkey Coffee has not seen as many customers as before the pandemic began, the shop is still busy on weekends. 

“We’re doing a lot better than we thought we would,” he said.

Pyle said that the shop has not been as vibrant as they would hope it to be. 

“When students came back, the shop was only at a fifth of the capacity. We’ve since opened our outside tables and the patio upstairs for people to sit at should people choose to order to sit in,” Pyle said.

Before COVID-19, Donkey Coffee started offering order-for-pickup service and have since perfected their system, Pyle said. 

“I think we, and other businesses, are just waiting for things to get back to normal,” he said.