Covid-19 has had mass effects across all aspects of our lives. One thing that was greatly affected was business.

Different industries were hit in different ways, with the service sector, particularly bars and restaurants, being hit hard. Rules have been put in place that shorten their hours and reduce the amount of people they can have in their establishments, causing many service workers to lose their jobs, as owners of these establishments cannot afford to pay them even with the help that they have received from the government. Laurie Yeager, the manager at restaurant Deep South Taco, described the experience managing a restaurant during this pandemic.

“It has been rough to say the least” Yeager said. “Our busy season is the summer, so we missed out on a ton of revenue that we were expecting to have. The biggest killer was the revenue we lost on Cinco de Mayo, as are sales are higher that day than any other day all year”.

One thing that helped keep these businesses afloat was the boom of the delivery companies like Uber Eats, Door Dash and Grub Hub. Deep South Taco, even though they were not able to have anyone inside the restaurant, was able to do take out with online orders and orders through these companies. “They are not always the easiest to deal with, but without these delivery companies I don’t know if we could have made it through the pandemic.” Yeager said.

Although there are more new guidelines from Governor Cuomo, Deep South Taco is still open for business.

“Come visit us for some Nachos and Margaritas!” Yeager said. “We are doing our best to follow the guidelines and to make every customer feel safe, but we need your help and supporting local restaurants is the best way to do it”.

Although this may be a bigger problem that should be addressed, it shows why the liquor industry has not dipped at all and is even thriving in some cases. Colonial Wine and Spirits in Orchard Park is one of the stores that has been consistently busy during the pandemic.

Manager Paul Gorcyzca said there have been many changes they have had to adjust to. With the store being packed all the time, these safety precautions are so important to follow and it sounds like it is this stores’ number one priority.

“It has been a lot of curb side orders that we aren’t used to, but anyway people want to come and shop here and support us we appreciate it,” Gorcyzca said. “We have tried to make it easy with our online orders and phone orders, and people have shown their appreciation for the safety precautions we take. Nothing is more important than our employees and our customers safety.”