Jobs outlook better in October; doubtful this month
Coronavirus rates put Butte County back in purple
CHICO » Businesses in Butte County are suffering from “whiplash,” as pandemic restrictions were pushed to the tightest levels by the state this week and Gov. Gavin Newsom added to it by slamming on a curfew.
“It’s very challenging,” noted Chico Chamber CEO Katy Thoma on Friday, a day after the month-long curfew was announced.
Knowing that coronavirus cases were increasing in Butte County, businesses thought they would be headed back to the red tier, which would have allowed restaurants to still offer indoor dining but at a reduced capacity.
Instead, jumping to purple tier shuts the door on inside dining, leaving customers “out in the cold.”
“Businesses have said they feel like they have whiplash, going from one tier to the next and then back and then jumping to purple,” Thoma said Friday.
As the north state faces winter storms and chilly temperatures, the vision of dining outside is less appealing. For once, the hope of a dry, warm winter may rise above the need for more rain and snow.
Some restaurants were lucky enough to have ordered outdoor heaters. Italian Cottage heralded its new tower heaters on social media, and has scattered them in their outside cluster of tables and chairs.
But others weren’t so lucky. “Restaurants that want to offer patio or outside dining can’t find the heaters now,” Thoma said she’s been hearing.
Tres Hombres co- owner Michael Thomas noted that he was able to get heaters, but for other reasons the Mexican restaurant has closed until Dec. 2.
Thomas told this publication that even before Butte County went back into the purple tier that he was considering a short hiatus that would allow employees to get a break over the holiday. It would also set him up to evaluate what’s working and what’s not.
With outside seating on Broadway and West First Street sides, he decided to close the latter a while ago because the trees along the sidewalk prevented the installation of overhead protection for his employees serving customers on rainy days.
Thomas recounted how painful the various degrees of shutting down have been, noting at time he “was losing money, but not too much,” and balancing that with trying to keep his employees working.
“It’s very challenging
... Businesses have said they feel like they have whiplash, going from one tier to the next and then back and then jumping to purple.”
— Katy Thoma, Chico Chamber CEO
The picture of resiliency, Tres Hombres was closed for nearly a year after a December 2009 fire damaged the kitchen and much of the restaurant’s interior. With no restaurant revenue, Thomas still managed to pay his employees.
Like others, Thomas was hoping for another stimulus package out of Congress designed for restaurants because of the high percentage of employees. He took advantage of the earlier payroll protection loan and the U. S. Small Business Administration’s economic injury disaster loan too, but had hopes for another round of help that might balance out the extreme reductions that restaurants have faced.
Tres Hombres will return to the Wednesday through Sunday hours when it reopens in December, and Thomas said he’ll be evaluating how curbside businesses has worked, and if a sturdy to- go beverage container for drinks can be found.
Tres Hombres has had success with its margaritas-to-go, he said, but was forced to use glass jars to ensure no collapsed containers. Now he can’t find glass jars.
“There’s canning, people using them for food and drinks, and I heard they’re used by pot growers to grow pot.”
As far as the Governor’s curfew, Thomas said he didn’t see the point when bars aren’t open in the purple tier and most restaurants have closed down before then.
Shutting down its inside dining, for the Red Tavern the change in rules prompted it to open its patio at 4 p.m., an hour earlier than previously.
“People can enjoy the warmer climate,” owner Rich Garcia said in a voicemail message to this publication.
Red Tavern has outside heaters and tents, and there are nightly specials, along with curbside and delivery, Tuesday through Sunday.
In an optimistic tone, Red Tavern’s Facebook post noted the hashtag “This too shall pass.”
The chamber’s Thoma didn’t think that the curfew would have too great an impact in Chico or Butte County, saying instead that big urban areas with numerous bars would be hit hardest. Because of Butte County’s purple rating, bars aren’t allowed open.
Also in a Facebook post, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea asked the public to comply with stif fer restrictions on movement under Newsom’s curfew order, but indicated he didn’t have the manpower nor the will to enforce it.
Jobless
On time, the Butte County unemployment numbers for October were released by the state on Friday, but labor market analyst Sheila Stock noted that it was difficult talking about month- old figures with such forceful changes occurring in November.
She noted that October had 700 more people employed than in September, along with a larger labor force.
“More people coming into the labor force means to me that they want to get back to work. They’re looking for a job or have been brought back by their employer.
“It’s positive to see that.” Stock said she would take a “wait and see” attitude about the November numbers.
Employment numbers showed that in the leisure and hospitality area, which includes restaurants and hotels, there were roughly 300 more workers in October, likely ref lecting the county’s shift into the less restrictive orange tier.
There were about 7,700 residents employed in leisure and hospitality in October, compared to about 9,300 a year ago.
For October, the Butte County unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent from 8.4 percent in September. There were slightly more than 7,000 residents without work.
“It has been as high as 15 percent,” she noted.
Stock noted that it would be difficult to predict what the shift to purple on top of the curfew impact would be.
The only industry that seemed to weather the pandemic’s impact in Butte County is agriculture, Stock said, noting that fields, orchards and livestock still needed care, and that employment numbers were following the seasonal levels.
Thoma noted that she wasn’t hearing among Chico businesses anyone who is throwing up their hands and quitting, but she noted that it’s “very challenging” time to be in business, be it retail, restaurants, manufacturing or other.
“We survived our own fire 11 years ago, then the Camp Fire, and now this. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” Tres Hombres owner Thomas said with an optimistic laugh.