Business owners start year with uncertainty
Hobart cafe owner: ‘A lot of us are on the cusp of closing’
Owner/chef Joseph Gaal shuttered the doors to his Sage restaurant in Valparaiso in mid-April, having lost more than 95% of the revenue the fine dining eatery normally generated once the COVID-19 virus hit.
Johnny Frostborne’s Librarium Cafe in downtown Hobart is struggling and fighting to survive.
“A lot of us are on the cusp of closing,” said Frostborne, who hopes to rally Hobart residents to support their local businesses.
The two small businesses are a reflection of what is happening across the area and nation, as owners grapple with pandemic-caused government restrictions and lockdowns and a large portion of the public that’s reluctant to go anywhere.
A recent study by economists at the University of Illinois, University of Chicago, Harvard Business School and Harvard University estimated that more than 100,000 small American businesses, or 2% of the total, have permanently closed due to Covid-related lockdowns.
The National Restaurant Association reported in September that the pandemic forced 100,000 restaurant closures in the first six months, or about 1 in 6 restaurants. According to the report, 40% of restaurant operators said it’s unlikely they’ll still be in business in six months without additional relief from Congress and the White House.
Gaal said he had a loyal following at Sage, but a lot of people are afraid to go out.
“Small businesses are in for a fight of their life in 2021, too. It’s a
struggle. People need to feel safe and it’s just not at that point yet,” said Gaal, who still operates another restaurant, Bat tis ta’ s Pizzeria at 220 N. Main St. in Crown Point.
Struggling to survive
Sage isn’t the only victim of the pandemic in the Region.
Munster brewpub 3 Floyds closed recently, citing safety reasons for its employees and customers, and Twincade, in downtown Griffith, announced its closure as well, among others.
The Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center doesn’t keep a record of closures, buts its regional director, Lorri Feldt, said the hospitality industry has been especially hard hit.
“Banquet halls have been hurt, anywhere large groups gather. Fine dining restaurants, too. Carryouts don’t work as well with them,” Feldt said.
Gaal said Sage had always been about the experience — wine, gathering, community — and served homemade pasta and other Italian foods, which made it difficult to survive.
“We were losing money every day,” he said.
“I tried to stay open, but it wasn’t working out. All good things come to an end,” he said of Sage, which he operated for 12 years between Chesterton and Valparaiso.
He said Sage had about 13 full-time employees when it closed, three of whom came to Battista’s Pizzeria with him.
“I have a much better survival rate with carryout pizza. It’s less labor intensive, even though it is artisan pizza,” he said.
Frostborne said he and his wife, Kaydee, were in expansion mode at the Librarium Cafe — a place where people can play board games while visiting with friends, eating and having a cup of coffee or butterbeer — before the virus struck. They had received approval from Mayor Brian Snedecor to begin offering beer and wine to their adult customers and were looking to expand their kitchen and bakery.
“We’ve taken a tremendous hit out of safety concerns,” said Frostborne, noting he and his wife have a baby and need to be careful.
He said they packed up the board games for health concerns, shut down the dining room and changed their hours of operation at the cafe, located at 310 Main St. in Hobart. He said their employees quit due to COVID-19 concerns and now it’s just the two of them running the cafe.
The Librarium Cafe has carryout service, but Frostborne said they can’t do deliveries due to the lack of employees and using companies like Door Dash are too costly for them.
Gaal said the first round of payroll protection program loans helped the industry a little, but feels the government could be doing much more to help small businesses.
Frostborne said community support is important.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to do is a call to arms, to rally the community. Every business in downtown Hobart is hurting,” Frostborne said.
He said if every Hobart resident spent $1 a year at each downtown Hobart business, those businesses would be thriving.
Staying hopeful
Frostborne said he appreciates the support of those who have come to his cafe during the pandemic.
Looking ahead, he said once his 4-year-old business survives the pandemic he will again expand his hours, bring back his former employees and look at adding beer and wine.
Gaal said Battista’s Pizzeria has a chance for survival because pizza is more of a carryout food item and they do delivery. Plus, he said there is a big group of community loyalists who support the local mom and pop businesses.
And while Sage’s Valparaiso location is shuttered, he said the restaurant will live on as he plans to add his homemade pasta to Battista’s Pizzeria’s menu and will start a wine program there, as well.
“Sage isn’t dying just because the doors are closed. I’m Sage and I’m not going anywhere any time soon,” Gaal said.