Fears for the future as small business owners count cost of the crisis
WORRIED owners of small businesses and the self-employed told the Daily Express about their fears for the future as the coronavirus crisis threatens livelihoods.
Joe McKenzie, 40, runs the pizza parlour Little Furnace in Liverpool’s Baltic Market, employing four staff.
He said: “My concern is the general public just being scared to come out.
“If people aren’t getting ill and businesses are sticking to their usual best practice I can’t see why people shouldn’t go out and eat as they usually would.
“I don’t think there’s enough guidance from the Government.”
The father of two added: “On a personal level it’s scary too. The restaurant could close down because of loss of earnings.”
Gary Swann, 37, who owns Odin’s Barbers in Runcorn, Cheshire, has already seen a big downturn in trade.
The dad of three said: “My shop is located inside a gym, and the gym has been completely empty too.
“If the rest of the month is really bad it could have a hugely damaging effect.
“If I don’t get any customers I won’t be able to pay my rent. Barbers could be particularly at risk of losing business due to coronavirus, because of the closer contact.”
Mark Hays opened The Red Berry Club coffee shop in Liverpool in November 2017 and has three employees.
The 42-year-old said: “Running a small business is very different to running a chain, it’s a labour of love. I’m going to carry on as long as I can until the Government or council tells me I can’t stay open. I think the Government has been reactionary, rather than proactive.
“If there are more grants in place to help small business that would be fantastic because we haven’t got a bottomless pit of money. But we remain positive.”
Taxi driver Karwan Chalabi, 38, of Cardiff said his wife had begged him not to go to work for fear of catching the virus. But the father of two said he had no idea how he would pay the bills if he could not do his job. He said: “People are using taxis much less – it’s because they are afraid of catching the virus.”
Natalie Isaac, director of Asador 44, a Spanish grill and wine bar in Cardiff, said the business lost a small fortune last weekend when the Six Nations rugby was called off just 24 hours before kick-off. She added: “We had 100 covers cancel last weekend when the rugby was called off. If we’d had a couple of days notice then we wouldn’t have bought so much stock. It is a city devastated. “We’ve seen bookings drop dramatically. We’ve had to stop spending on buying equipment, on recruitment and training, and we’ve put our PR and marketing on hold.
“But we hope people keep coming to the restaurant. “Our staff rely on us to pay their bills. It’s a very worrying time for everyone.”