'We’re not going to survive past spring': Local businesses fear threat of another shutdown

As new businesses filled the space, the former B.F. Goodrich building at Canal Place was starting to look like a brewery district.

Missing Falls Brewery had a year under its belt, and R. Shea Brewing’s second location had opened next door. Things were looking up as they both geared up for St. Patrick’s Day.

Then COVID-19 hit, and everything shut down.

“Things were going great,” said Will Myers, co-owner of Missing Falls. “We were poised to take over the world, and we got hit in the head and told to sit down.”

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Federal funding gave them something to lean on — but with no new stimulus to soften the blow, Ron Shea is pleading with Gov. Mike DeWine to not shut them down again. 

“If we get shut down, there’s no safety net,” said Shea, owner of R. Shea’s downtown and in the Merriman Valley. “That’s the scary part of it — and who knows how long it's going to be?”

The pandemic already has claimed a handful of local bars and restaurants. Louie’s Bar and Grille, Raycade, two Brubaker’s Pub locations, and Thursday’s Lounge closed permanently. 

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Lawmakers in Washington have been deadlocked over another stimulus package for months. On Monday, DeWine released a statement urging Congress to pass “a much-needed bipartisan COVID-19 relief package,” something many business owners are also seeking.

"Many vital CARES Act programs have already run out, and more are set to expire before the end of the year," DeWine said. "Ohio’s workers, families, small businesses and industries, health care professionals, schools and children are struggling. Additional substantial aid is essential."

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Shea doesn't expect anything soon. In a Facebook video, Shea called on DeWine to understand that his breweries and other businesses won’t last another shutdown if that level of funding does not continue. 

“Unless that’s going to happen again, or unless you, the state of Ohio, is going to provide that level of funding immediately, we’re not going to survive past spring,” Shea said in the video.

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Steve Millard, president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber, said there are competing forces at work.

The business community is pushing the governor to not close businesses, and Millard said DeWine is doing everything he can to avoid that. But rising case numbers and spread from the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays could force it to happen.

“We might get to the point where the numbers don’t give us a choice,” Millard said. 

Those rising numbers keep customers from venturing out, something both Shea and Myers said they’ve seen firsthand. Millard said he doesn’t expect that to change soon.

Meanwhile funding for small businesses and stimulus for consumers has almost run out.

Millard said there could be another six to nine months of hard times for businesses ahead. He said two things need to happen: Consumers need relief, which would drive spending, and small businesses need support. 

“We have to focus that support on the most needy companies, and I believe that bars and restaurants are going to be in that category,” Millard said. 

Shea said it will be an anxiety-filled couple of months, and he’s in a scary position. 

Shea said he has used about 75% of his funding so far. He’s trying to get more economic injury disaster loan relief, and he’s trying to defer his SBA loan, which helped fund the $2 million he put into his downtown location.

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Both breweries have adapted since the spring, but neither expect to have enough revenue to survive another shutdown.

Shea said before COVID-19, 70% of his revenue came from his taproom. Selling canned beer at big-box stores used to be 20% of his business; now it's become half of it. 

If there’s a shutdown, that will take away his taproom sales and dig into his beer distribution, since all the bars that sell them will close, too. Keg sales already have stopped, Shea said, because his distributor is expecting another shutdown.

Myers said Missing Falls didn’t even have online ordering before COVID-19 hit. He put out a new offering of takeout deals on Facebook on Tuesday, hoping to drive that part of his business again. 

Even at reduced capacity, his restaurant still makes up about 90% of his business. 

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Both breweries feel they can stay open safely. Sanitation is a key part of brewing beer, and while it's been expensive to buy the needed cleaning supplies and PPE, the operators said their large spaces allow them to keep people safe. 

Shea said he could even keep people ten feet apart, instead of six, but he realizes many smaller bars and restaurants don’t have that option. 

If another shutdown comes, Millard said it’s hard to say what will happen. Whether a business survives could come down to if their landlord can postpone rent, or if a business owner’s spouse has a job to keep the family afloat.

Politics have stalled a new stimulus deal. In the meantime, Millard said, local business owners are making decisions every day to try to stay open. 

Shea doesn’t envy DeWine, and he realizes politicians are in a difficult position. But if they decide on another shutdown without some sort of help, he said, many places won’t have a chance. 

Reach Reporter Sean McDonnell at 330-996-3186 or smcdonnell@thebeaconjournal.com.