YORK COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) We’re continuing checking in on area industries as we’ve just passed the 6 month mark of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, we take a look at the restaurant industry.
Some say restaurants are a unique industry. They help shape a city’s culture, promote collaboration and add a sense of community. It’s also one industry most impacted by COVID-19.
York County Regional Chamber President, Rob Youngblood, says, “Restaurants are in major part of the quality of life of the business community here.”
While many restaurants have had to shift gears during this time — selling to-go or taking fewer customers — several in the area have been able to open new locations, with owners saying new ventures didn’t come without delays and challenges.
“We had some slowness when we opened up, we had some times where we had to scale back depending on what’s happening with our staff as well,” says Cassie McGowan, Co-Founder of Legal Remedy Brewings’s new Cantina.
McGowan says opening during this time and at 50% capacity wasn’t easy and it came with a lot of uncertainty but they’re proud they can still be apart of this community.
“It’s been important for us to continue to just be a good role model as best we can for all of us and so we try to implement all the safety measures that we can during the pandemic,” says McGowan.
Other restaurants like the White Horse — described as a destination in Rock Hill’s community for the last 44 years — were one of several that had to close its doors.
Former General Manager, Katherine Denio, says, “I think it was just one of those places that everybody had been to at one time or another, whether they came a lot or a little, and it was one of those places that you always knew what you would get when you came.”
The White Horse had recently made a big move to Rock Hill’s new Sports and Events Center Complex, but when events stopped business slowed. Denio says they tried To-Go orders and new business models, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with overhead.
“We watched all around us restrictions be lifted on this than that, and here we were still at 50% and you just can’t,” says Denio. “You can’t last like that. But life happens, and reality sets in. And I know that that had to happen for a lot of people who have also worked their whole lives into putting their whole lives into starting a restaurant.”
“We all can deal with adversity for a certain period of time. But, we do that knowing that it will end at some point, and that’s one of the curious things and difficult things of this,” say Youngblood. “But I think the next several months for restaurants as the weather cools and as well settled in, will be just establishing some consistency in the way they do their business.”
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson is speaking with restaurant owners and management about their experiences up to this point.
