Local economy:
Businesses face fear, confusion, but spring back,
CHICO >> As a city fueled by local businesses, Chico was deeply affected by the pandemic and a shutdown which reduced a large portion of its customer base — and is still reeling.
Chico Chamber of Commerce President Katy Thoma said when she thinks of the state of the local business community one year ago, she thinks “It was fear.
“People didn't know what was to come. We thought we were going to be shut down for two weeks.”
As the year went on, “It was a case of whiplash every day. Because the rules kept changing.”
The chamber pivoted to become a source of information on new guidance from the state for the entire business community. But Thoma said for many there was “so much anxiety and so much fear.”
The one positive was using the strength of relationships made stronger in the disasters of the Camp Fire and Oroville Dam spillway disaster to keep communication strong and try to protect local economic development, she said.
As a result, one year later, Thoma said many more businesses than expected have stayed in business. She said the home improvement and agricultural sectors are doing great.
Working with businesses and the city's Code Enforcement officials to slow the spread of the virus was a difficult task at first.
“Some businesses were like, ‘you can't tell me what to do,'” Thoma said, to which the city responded with some citations.
Communication from the city to keep following all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for operation caused problems “with different sectors of people that believe nobody should tell them should wear a mask.”
“That's been a real challenge,” Thoma said. Yet over time, she said most businesses complied when COVID-19 case increases were seen and more restrictions came down. She said the chamber worked hard to convey the importance of keeping cases down to get the economy back.
“We just cannot let our guard down,” she said. “Especially with this new (COVID-19) variant.”
To combat the impacts, businesses had to revamp their websites and sometimes entire business model. The chamber campaigned heavily for people to spend locally during key seasons like the holidays — and this seemed to work well.
“Businesses said they did fine over Christmas,” she said.
Still, entire retail seasons like traditional wedding season were mostly destroyed in 2020, as well as the majority of sales from student and faculty customers brought by Chico State.
However, Thoma noted some businesses actually benefited when student employees did not return, as they could keep their local workers employed. And around 70% of students returned to the city in August, more than originally expected.
Downtown Chico Business Association Executive Director Melanie Bassett said, “In many ways (the lockdown) caused people to come together in ways they hadn't anticipated.”
Businesses which had not changed much about how they operated for many years were particularly affected — “It did really force folks to talk and organize ourselves together more,” she said.
“Between the Camp Fire, COVID-19, the North Complex fires and the college students not returning, it's been hit hard the past few years. There's just so many economic, social and environmental stresses a community can endure,” Bassett said.
“Many are holding on by a thread but there has been quite a bit of help,” she added.
It's been especially “really, really tough on restaurants.” And 66% of all businesses did not have an online presence at the beginning of the pandemic, so the association worked on launching an online marketplace ahead of the holidays.
The main costs which can push businesses over the edge continue to be building use, rent and utility costs, expenses on supply and food waste and retaining employees. Bassett said constant changes to the tier level in Butte County severely impacted staff retainment and layoff rates.
Many of the landlords have been working with businesses on payment plans and rent reduction if possible, she added.
“I think that's why we didn't have the closures we thought we would.”
Businesses hang on
Sipho Merritt had closed his restaurant Sipho's Jamaica just before the pandemic, then found himself reopening as loyal customers clamored for a return.
“When it happened and everyone was panicking, some of my customers still wanted food and were encouraging me to do something,” he said. “None of my staff wanted to work because everyone was scared of what the pandemic would be.”
“We don't work with doubts and fears, we otherwise work with ways and means,” he said. “I wanted to serve my people more than anything because they are the ones who keep me going.”
So Merritt decided to test out taking orders the day before cooking, having people pay ahead and pick up their food the next day, to guarantee not wasting any food.
He said this worked well, and customers supported his efforts enough that he reopened the restaurant for shorter hours only on Fridays and the weekends to save on utility costs. Working alone was hard at first as a “one-man show” but Merritt said it quickly was worth as people began catching on.
By June 2020, his workers began to return to work at the restaurant and he was able to extend dining hours.
“Gradually with that faith and the love I do my work with, the people start coming and start supporting me,” he said. He added he is taking his time before reopening indoor dining operations although the county is in the red tier, likely until summer.
“I've learned everything you do in a rush, a lot of the time it backfires on you,” Merritt said.
Another restaurant, Life Live Juice Company, open downtown since 2017, had opened a second shop in Meriam Park the day the lockdown began, March 16.
Yet co-owner Abigail Rasmussen said the business “honestly fared better than I think most companies might have, because our business was already set up as a grab and go food service location.”
“We didn't have to stop and completely redesign what our business model was, like a lot of people needed to.”
Rasmussen added the downtown location did lose customers from the university, both students and faculty.
But, “We're very grateful that we didn't have to shut something we literally had just opened,” she said. She added the downtown location never struggled to pay rent, but in Meriam Park the landlord was kind enough to work out a payment plan for three months to keep the location open.
Rasmussen added enough employees decided not to work during the pandemic due to health concerns, which prevented any layoffs.
Looking forward
Thoma said the race to vaccinate the county is giving her encouragement for bringing back city events stimulating local revenue. She called the Butte County Public Health Department's vaccine rollout “absolutely commendable.”
“We really appreciate that, this really just moved quickly,” in part due to established habits of increased local communication, she said.
The next step to help businesses? “We have to get the schools open,” Thoma said. Employees and owners continue to be impacted by students who are not on campus as schedules for child care heavily impact most stores.
“We really are pushing to get them (Chico Unified School District) to open as soon as they are able.”
Bassett said some signature downtown Chico events are returning this season.
The Thursday Night Market in downtown Chico is happening this year, scheduled to begin May 6. Friday Night Concerts in the Park are also being worked on to bring back for the summer. She added a city ice skating rink is being worked on to be placed in City Plaza, with more details to come.
For now, sidewalk events like Slice of Chico and Taste of Chico will depend on the county's viral case levels in the summer.