CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As small businesses that haven’t been allowed to reopen head into another month with no income, frustration grows as business owners struggle to make ends meet.
A sign outside Peculiar Rabbit in Plaza Midwood reads, “Thank you Governor Roy Cooper for killing private bars, restaurants, gyms, salons and so many more! We will see you at the voting booth! 0% Open= 100% Failure, 100% Open= Maybe surviving the chaos.”
The sign has a link to a change.org petition calling on Governor Cooper to open up bars and restaurants at full capacity.
Robert Nixon, owner/operator of Peculiar Rabbit, The Rabbit Hole, Jackalope Jacks, and Smooth Monkey, is behind the sign and petition.
Smooth Monkey is open, but his other three establishments have not been allowed to reopen thus far.
"We can't survive another month of being completely shut down,” Nixon said.
Even if his other businesses are allowed to reopen at 50% capacity, Nixon said he worries about how to make them profitable at a reduced capacity and would like to have the chance to reopen fully.
“The spending habits of the people being at home have changed. They’re used to being at home right now,” Nixon said. “If we open at 100% of capacity, we’re probably only going to bring back 50% of our customers.”
Governor Cooper has not guaranteed the state will move into Phase 3 on June 26, and he has not clarified what will be included if the state moves forward.
"We're continuing to monitor these numbers and know that right now, they're not trending in a good direction, but we still want to give this more time,” Cooper said Monday.
Cooper expects to announce a decision about moving into the next phase by the “first of next week.”
"I'm asking the people of North Carolina to let's pull together so that we can continue to move forward in easing restrictions,” Cooper said. “That being said, we will always do what is the best for the health and safety of North Carolinians."
Nixon said he posted the sign outside his business as his way of making a statement to give his businesses a fighting chance to survive.
"We certainly don't like the direction we're going in with phase 1.5, 1.7, 2.0, maybe 3.0 or third phase and then going backward in our phases, you know, saying now we're not sure what we're going to do,” Nixon said. “We know we can't survive."
With bills starting to add up, Nixon said he, as well as other businesses, have reached a breaking point where they may soon go from closure to foreclosure.
"We're not asking for money,” Nixon said. “We just want to open up. We want to be in charge of our own futures. You know, our own financial, own families, and our own stability. Right now, we're scared of the future."