A downtown Roswell restaurant owner opened her business last summer, figuring the pandemic would only last a few more months. By January she considered permanently closing it.
Meredith Longwith opened Canton St. Social in August with her brother and chef Gregory Marer. Since then, the restaurant has been through swings high and low. And although she thought about selling it only weeks ago, Longwith said an increase in business has made her more optimistic about the restaurant’s future.
“We are at capacity with reservations, Fridays and Saturdays,” she said, adding that the restaurant is still operating in negative numbers. “All other days it’s slower.”
Businesses everywhere have weathered a long, slow year of temporary shutdowns, mask mandates and customers unwilling to dine or shop as they once did. Financial help from the federal and local governments aimed at keeping businesses afloat has helped some remain open but many, including some in north Fulton, have closed.
Throughout the pandemic, new businesses have continued to launch. When The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked small businesses what would make them consider a startup when many are struggling to survive, owners of new and existing businesses said they saw a path that could work in the “new” normal times.
Not every business owner has made it work. In Roswell, 592 new businesses have opened since January 2020 and 824 have closed, according to the city. In Sandy Springs, 569 new business licenses were applied for since January 2020. Communications Director Sharon Kraun said the city won’t have an accurate count of closed businesses until the end of March.
“It takes a lot of confidence to open a business now,” Roswell City Councilman Matthew Tyser said. “There is a level of optimism that is refreshing to see. I don’t know if its people are seeing the light at the end of the COVID tunnel.”
Several business owners who opened this year or plan to open later told the AJC the pandemic factored into their approach as they implemented safety measures and features to reassure customers. But even as more vaccines bring some normalcy back, when customers will return to local businesses is unclear.
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com
The struggle for small businesses
Two siblings struggled to keep their restaurant doors open in Sandy Springs when the pandemic and a nationwide shutdown arrived only five months after they opened.
Artie Antoniades and brother Nik Panagopoulos opened Apron and Ladle restaurant café in Sandy Springs in October 2019. The brother and sister have owned several restaurants in the past, including the now closed Teela Taqueria, which was located in the same space for years at City Walk shopping center. Revenue for Apron and Ladle is 60% of what it was before the pandemic, Antoniades said.
The owners recently started a Go Fund Me page to help pay the rent they’re two months behind on. The campaign first asked for $33,000 but the restaurant owners reduced that amount after receiving $7,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds and $5,000 through Sandy Springs’ business relief grant program, Antoniades said.
Apron and Ladle started out with 13 employees but now employs six, she said. The restaurant started out solely a breakfast and lunch cafe, which Antoniades said is a “hard sell” for takeout service during the pandemic. The owners recently added dinner with the hope of increasing sales.
“I’m not going to give up,” Antoniades said. “We just got behind with January and February rent. We asked the landlord to bear with us but they also have their own obligations.”
Fulton County and local cities such as Sandy Springs have worked to help small businesses. Last fall, Fulton cities collectively received $25 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Cares Act) funds, a portion of which has been used for small business relief grants. In Georgia, about 170,000 businesses received $14.4 billion in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, supporting 1.4 million workers, according to the Small Business Administration.
Longwith said she plans to apply for Roswell’s relief grant this month. The city opened its application window on Monday for grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. With 13 on staff, Canton St. Social could be eligible for the maximum amount.
“We’re under capitalized and we don’t have enough to float us through,” Longwith said. She said business grants would enable her to open during lunch by hiring more servers and buying the necessary food items. After initially opening in August, live music on an outdoor patio drew customers in, Longwith said. Business waned when Roswell announced only non-amplified music could be played outside the restaurant and then cold temperatures arrived.
“We were contemplating closing,” Longwith said. “I didn’t qualify for the (Payment Protection Program) because we started during the pandemic. But things are going well with (online) reviews and we are now doing the food orders for Gate City Brewing.”
New business optimism
The leader of Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce said it’s not unusual for new businesses to open during economic uncertainty. In starting a new business, Kali Boatright, president and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, said a buyout package from an employer could be the motivation a person needs to open a business they’ve been wanting to start for a long time.
“Those that pivoted to a workable model, whatever their type of business, were the ones that fared the best,” said Boatright. The chamber serves six cities stretching from Sandy Springs to Johns Creek.
In February, Shannon Renegar opened Bodybar Pilates studio at the Maxwell mixed-use development in Alpharetta after working in corporate marketing for 20 years.
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” The Brookhaven resident said. “With fitness it’s one of those things where you want to be healthy, even in a pandemic. I think there is some component of people wanting to get out of their homes.”
To address concerns about the health risk posed by gyms, Renegar said she designed the 2,500-square-foot space to have separated workout stations that are cleaned constantly.
In May, business owner Cookie Patten plans to open an upscale nail salon, C’est Vert, with facial and massage services in the downtown City Center area. Alpharetta City Council approved the Roswell Street space in January.
Patten said she designed her salon taking into account potential health concerns of her customers and workers. Patten said she has lupus, an autoimmune disease, and the salon will have eco-friendly, pandemic safety measures to support people vulnerable to toxins in the air.
“We’re not just focusing on the health of the client but the health of the staff,” she said.
All business owners have more insight into operating in a pandemic than they would’ve had a year ago. Antoniades said she believes keeping Apron and Ladle going for the long term will be worth the effort she and her brother have put into it.
“Our landlord said he will work with us,” she said. “We were packed (with customers) this weekend. People came out to show support. The weather is getting warmer and people are getting vaccines, it would be a shame to lose the business when we are right on the cusp.”
Small business assistance relief grants provided by north Fulton cities
Roswell - $400,000
Sandy Springs - $1.6 million
Johns Creek - $2.2 million
