CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Across the Charlotte area, small businesses have been trying to stay alive during the pandemic. Now many are banding together.
"We were in growth mode until this hit," said Jayson Whiteside, co-owner of Charlotte restaurant Bardo.
This year hasn't looked like how anyone would have expected.
"It was pretty crazy to see what happened to all of our plans," said Matt Yarmey, the owner of Pure Intentions Coffee.
Christi Busch started For the Love of Dutch, a company that makes dog food, back in January.
"I had plans and had to make changes," Busch said. "I probably wouldn’t have selected 2020 but that’s how it turned out and we're making the best of it."
Whiteside was supposed to open his second restaurant VANA on March 23 – they finally opened in August.
"It's been really tough were not nearly as profitable as we were," Whiteside said. "We have been able to keep most of our employees on which is great."
The founder of Pure Intentions Coffee had some pretty big intentions for 2020.
"We were thinking of expanding into other markets and that all came to a screeching halt," Yarmey said. "We had one week where everything was normal and the next week we had zero orders come in."
So what did they all do?
For the Love of Dutch is relying on online sales and social media to spread the word, Bardo started selling take-home cocktail making kits to supplement in-house dining sales, and Pure Intentions started selling more directly to consumers and retailers like Harris Teeter and Whole Foods.
They all said the way the Charlotte community has supported them and the number of new businesses that have actually popped up this year is a good sign for the city’s future.
"It just gives me hope that next year and the years after, they’re going to still hold the same hope we were looking at back in January," Yarmey added.
The guys at Bardo are actually working on their next cocktail kit right now – it’s a specialty cocktail – called Pivot. If you’d like to shop local for the holidays, check out the online small business collective, Support Local Or Else.