Thriving Not Just Surviving: Local Businesses that Beat the Odds During the Pandemic

By Charles McGuigan, cover graphic by Doug Dobey 10.2020

The wise among us listened to the scientists, and began transforming ourselves to combat a pandemic that is changing the way we live. Denial is a lie, nothing more; and the only way to confront a disease of this magnitude is with the naked truth, as harsh as it may be. That is a hallmark of courage and endurance.

A quality shared by all successful local business owners is resilience, and an ability to think quickly on your feet, knowing when to bob and weave, and when to rope a dope. Richmond’s local business community is ruling the ring. As soon as COVID-19 struck, these entrepreneurs rewrote their gamebooks. They adopted protocols issued by the CDC and Governor Northam’s office; they reinvented the way they do business. And the community’s response has been overwhelming.

The silver lining of this pandemic may be an instruction to us all: Support local businesses, the men and women who live among us and supply us with our needs and services. 2020 has removed the scales from our eyes, and restored perfect vision, making it clear that we should rally around local businesses and not corporations that drain the lifeblood out of our economy.

Appliances on Lakeside, 5418 Lakeside Avenue, with Tammy Kelly

“We’re doing a lot of business, we’re very blessed, we’re very humbled by this community,” Tammy Kelly says. “Early on we took efforts to create social distancing. We’re doing a lot of replacements, and we have customers looking for packages of appliances. They’re ready to update their house.  We’re very proud of the decisions we’ve made. We do not do e-commerce; we don’t have a cart online. Primarily that’s because we really feel like customers should have assistance. They might pick something out, but it’s our responsibility to make sure the fit is right for their home and also for their lifestyle.”  

Arthur’s Electric Service, 8910 Brook Road, Glen Allen, with Linda Arthur

“We’ve been in business for 97 years,” says Linda Arthur. “We sell everything you need for lawn care and landscaping—riding mowers, chain saws, hedge trimmers, everything. We didn’t shut down one day and our entire staff is still on, and we’re working more than ever. September sales were better than any month in our business’s history. A lot of people know us in the neighborhood and they support us. People were afraid—particularly landscapers and homeowners—that they weren’t going to be able to have a continuous supply of whatever they needed to get the job done.” 

Axselle Auto Service, 5519 Lakeside Avenue, with Dave Axselle

“We had to cut hours somewhat, putting our employees on 40 hours instead of 52 hours a week,” Dave Axselle says. “But we kept all fourteen members of our staff on. We sanitize three times a day, do the same thing with the cars. A lot of people drop off the cars, leave the keys in them, don’t come inside, pay by credit card. A lot of cars we pick up and deliver, so people don’t even have to come in. Masks are required. It’s a whole different ball game. It’s a different animal. We used to be incredibly busy in the morning from 6:30 till 8:30. Now, that’s not the norm because everybody’s at home with the kids. It’s just adjustments. You have to adapt. All small businesses do, and we support all the other businesses in the area. When we go to lunch we try to support our local restaurants, and when we get dinner at night, we try to hit all the local hot spots in town. We feel blessed to be doing as well as we are.”

Berry’s Produce, 9592 Chamberlayne Road, with Sandra Berry

“We opened in March and our business has just increased every single day since we’ve been here,” according to Sandra Berry. “When we started this we didn’t know what was going to happen. I knew that produce would sell pretty well, but I didn’t know how the other things that I offered would sell—our flowers, our garden décor. With a lot of people being out of work at that time, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, and what I found was people came out, people supported me, people were here day in and day out. My business just climbed and increased. We’ve probably increased this year alone by about 60 to 65 percent in sales. We have grown by leaps and bounds. I can’t say enough about my customers and the support that they give me. I am so appreciative. Within 15 to 30 miles I’m getting all the produce that I need to supply my customers. Right off the get go we started with hand sanitizer, and disposable gloves. We installed shields in our register room. We keep all windows, all doors open. It’s all worked for us.”

catherine-rose.com with Catherine McGuigan

“I think that buying local is going to be a very crucial thing for people to start or continue to wrap their minds around in the coming months and years,” says Catherine McGuigan. “It checks all the boxes— sustainability, transparency, economy, community. Many local makers and sellers take great care to support one another by sourcing materials and products from one another. Take Little House Green Grocery as an example— they pack that place full of nearby names. I know in my case of art-making when sourcing something directly from Richmond isn’t always feasible, I always strive to at least create my product using materials from maybe a paper company that is very eco-conscious and family run. In both of these cases, you can often see the impact of the choice you, the buyer, are making and can know that your choices are going to be positively affecting the local economy and the community and your friends and family who are very well themselves local makers. I hope that we start to realize this importance, particularly with the coming holiday season. Things like Prime Day (for Amazon) and Black Friday make it extremely easy for consumers to put money in the pockets of big businesses, but I hope that people can see the importance of instead putting that money into the people and communities that care about them.”

Chocolate Cravings, 6929 Lakeside Avenue, with Cathy Churcher

“I lost Easter because of COVID,” says Cathy Churcher. “We didn’t have a market in Williamsburg so I was doing online sales. People are more reluctant to come out and shop, and so that’s how it’s effected my business. I’ve managed to keep going because of the graciousness of my customers and I think their willingness to support me during this time. My customers have been very, very generous, over-tipping and coming in here just laying down a hundred dollar bill and saying, ‘Just fill me up’, which is really nice. A few people have said because they can’t take certain things in to nursing homes and retirement communities and because all my stuff is individually wrapped, they have been buying it to give to the doctors or to the nurses who are taking care of people. And so with individually wrapped gifts, it’s a lot easier than taking in donuts or a pan of brownies. So that’s been a real boost for me as well. I’ve gotten a few corporate orders, but it’s obviously down. But I’ve got a good client base who are very supportive, who want me to stay open because they say, ‘You’ve got the best chocolate around.’” 

Classic Touch Cleaning and The Painting Class, 1229 Bellevue Avenue, with Joe and Brenda Stankus

“One of our businesses, the cleaning business, was considered essential,” says Joe Stankus. “All of our employees are back to work now and we’re at about 75 to 80 percent capacity, which is kind of amazing. The Painting Class just started their new classes. We can socially distance properly. Instead of ten in a class, we have six or seven. Now that school is back we’re hoping to pick up more business. We’re optimistic right now. We never received any financial aid. We’re showing a small profit for the year. That’s all we could ask for. We are following all the CDC protocols—masks, gloves, social distancing. All the rags are treated when they come back in before they go out to another house. We never take one rag from one house to another. We don’t even take a rag from one room to another in a house to make sure we don’t spread anything. We’re looking forward to the uptick, which we know is coming.”

Decatur’s Garage, 4031 MacArthur Avenue, with Bobby Shore

“We’ve made it through COVID-19 fairly well so far,” Bobby Shore says. “We lost about half our business the first months. Then customers started trickling in, and then inspections started rolling in and we started to pick up through it. We’re making it through and we’re getting there. It’s coming back. We’re an essential business so that helps a lot. We’re getting back to where we need to be and we just hired another person and that helped. We’re getting there. We follow the protocols. We clean all the countertops and everything else. We’re trying to get through it.”

Dot’s Back Inn and Demi’s Mediterranean Kitchen, at 4030 and 4017 MacArthur Avenue, with Jimmy Tsamouras

“March 17 hit; it was tragedy for everybody,” Jimmy Tsamouras remembers. “We immediately shut our restaurants down and all communication with our customers for their protection and our staff’s protection. We were in a spiral, not knowing where we were going. It was very traumatic, everyone was in a very large panic for personal issues and financial issues. We utilized the first couple weeks to clean and paint and kind of restore our restaurant, hoping we were going to reopen in another week or two once everything calmed down. Unfortunately that’s not the way it went as everybody knows. April came around and we decided to open Dot’s for curbside pickup, take out, special dinners, things like that. It was well-received by our community, our neighbors and our fans. And then in June when the Governor allowed us to open at some capacity, we did with outdoor dining. Following in July we had the ability at Dot’s to open on the Samis Grotto sidewalk. We are grateful to Samis Grotto for allowing us to do that. It helped out immensely. I feel that customers are still very worried and concerned with due cause, but I think they also feel a little more lightened up, a little calmer. In August we started to do dinners at Demi’s. Things seem to be going fairly well there. It’s pretty much 50 percent capacity inside. We’re very grateful for the customers we have that come in to support us, and they’ve been wonderful. Everyone has been very respectful of one another, wearing masks when they get up to go to the bathroom. I think one of the most important things is to make the customer feel safe and assure them that we are following all the protocols. There’s no reason not to follow protocols; it’s not that hard. Eventually, it just becomes a norm. You get used to it. With local businesses, you get to know your customers, your purveyors, you get to know me and my staff. It’s a lot more than just a generic experience of going into a commercial corporate place.”    

Early Bird Biscuit, 1221 Bellevue Avenue, with Tim Laxton

“As a carryout establishment, we were well prepared to share all meals to-go,’” says Tim Laxton.  “We are in compliance with all health guidelines and maintain an excellent inspection report. Since our inception carry-out dining has been our business model at both locations.”

Fin & Feather Pet Center, 5208 Lakeside Avenue, with Shane Rippey

“Initially, with fear of the pandemic, business was a little slow, but rebounded quickly once the pet industry was deemed essential,” says Shane Rippey, manager of Fin & Feather. “It’s been pretty chaotic since then. It’s been extremely busy. We are one of the businesses that can thrive during this situation. Essentially it’s been full speed ahead since about mid-April. Even with closing early multiple days of the week for about three months, we’ve still had very strong sales. We’ve had a lot of support from people who want to support local businesses. We’ve had good turnout from new customers even in that regard. And from the beginning we have followed the protocols.”  

HOBNOB, 6010 Hermitage Road, with Tracey Thoroman

“COVID struck and on March 15 we decided to close the doors for inside dining, and March 17 we opened a sort of drive through format, and that worked pretty well,” Tracey Thoroman recalls. “It was a little slow at the beginning, but over the first month it started to pick up greatly. People have been really supportive. They’ve been supportive to our staff and adding gratuities that maybe weren’t as common with to-go food. I think people saw the benefit of helping us get our staff through this. It was pretty amazing. People have been very supportive. We’re starting to talk about opening inside. We’re building a new patio, which is coming along pretty nicely now. We did a bathroom interior renovation as well. We’ll open up a few inside, and a few on our new covered patio, and a couple on the existing patio on nice days. The new patio will be covered and maybe use an infrared heater. That’s the thing about independent business owners, you have to figure it out. You can’t just roll over. I feel like Richmond’s got to be one of the top cities in the country as far as supporting local businesses.” 

Lakeside Farmers’ Market with Sharon and Peter Francisco

“We are in our thirteenth year,” Peter Francisco says. “COVID-19 has completely changed the way the market operates, totally opposite from what we had in the past. The market was a place where people could gather, shake hands, hug each other, go inside the booths, pick out their produce, and really have a lot of conservations with the farmers. Number one, masks are required. Number two, every customer has to stay six feet apart. All produce is roped off from the customers. The customers stand back and they pick and choose. Luckily we have not seen a drop in customers. The community has been very supportive and they’ve been more than supportive of our requirement on the masks and social distancing. They feel like that’s something we’re doing that makes it safer for them.”

My Outdoor Project with Gasmin and Victor Ayala

“We were a little bit nervous with the pandemic, we thought we were going to slow down,” Victor Ayala says, then looks to his wife. “My right hand is Gasmin.” She nods and adds: “We did think things were going to slow down, but since people got stuck at home, they kept looking at their yards and they were like, ‘We want projects.’ So while they were working at home, we were working outside. We have been able to keep a steady flow. I try to stay in the office and do most of the office work, and Victor is outside with a crew of two. We do landscaping and hardscaping and we do fencing as well. We try to accommodate what the customer wants and their visions. And we are very thankful for the community around us. We’ve been able to have a steady flow.”

Nicola Flora, 1219 Bellevue Avenue, with Nicole Roberts

“We didn’t really close when the pandemic started back in March,” Nicole Robert tells me. “We were open, but we didn’t really have anyone coming into the shop. So my husband and I started with contactless curbside pickup and delivery. We’re available for curbside pickup. Local delivery is free here in the neighborhood, and our neighbors have been very, very supportive. You can order online, or you can call us. You can give us your credit card, you can do Venmo, you can pay cash. People have come by and opened up their trunks and I just put it in. I am so thankful for my neighbors and they keep supporting us and I really appreciate that.  We’re doing the best that we can, and trying to make people happy with flowers.”  

NORTHSIDE DENTAL Co, 3404 Hermitage Road, with Katelin Heim

“This has been a dream project to be in this location and to serve Northside for so long, so we were definitely going to jump on the opportunity to open,” says Katelin Heim. “Being able to be here at a convenient location so our neighbors can come and get their oral health taken care of in this time is really important to us. We have masks and sanitize constantly. We have filters that take the smallest particles out of the air that could possibly be transmitted.  We take all precautions with our staff and any one coming into our building.  The response has been phenomenal. We’ve seen people coming to support us, but also, I think everyone’s flexible schedules have allowed them to get their dental appointments taken care of now more than ever. So, we’re booked out a few months and we’re keeping up with the demand which is a really great thing to have especially during this time. “

Once Upon A Vine, 4009 MacArthur Avenue, with Bob Kocher

“We are considered an essential business since we sell beer and wine,” according to Bob Kocher. “We have lost three employees—not from the pandemic—they are afraid to deal with people and the public, but we have rearranged our scheduling. We’ve reduced our hours to take care of the fact that we only have three people working here. We are still servicing our neighborhood which has been fantastic to us. We were actually the first business to follow the protocols with the masks in the city. We’ve maintained that ever since February. Everybody was required to wear a mask, if they didn’t have a mask we would sell them a mask. We also offered curbside service if people didn’t have a mask or didn’t want to come in. We sanitize the store every evening and twice during the day. Business now is about normal for what we were prior to the pandemic. And that is due to the fact that people realize our new hours and they are abiding by the mask requirement.”

Rebecca D’Angelo with Virginia Capital Realty 

“Initially we thought COVID-19 was really going to affect the market, but so far it doesn’t seem to have,” Rebecca D’Angelo says. “It’s still a seller’s market, and if you’re in the 250 or below price range, things are very competitive. I just put an offer on the other day. Thirty bids on it. It’s definitely kind of a crazy seller’s market. But it’s still a great time to buy because the rates are so low—they’re 2.5, 2.9. They’re historically low and they’re expected to remain that way for a little bit. I would say it’s a great time to buy in Richmond, and it’s a great time to sell.”

Rich’s Stitches, 4013 MacArthur Avenue, with Chris Rich

“COVID has been an experience,” says Chris Rich. “March 19 we closed down for about two months. We did get the P3 (Paycheck Protection Program) and started back up the middle of June, and we have been full-fledged since then. Business has been coming back slowly every week. We are following all the protocols that the Governor has put out. We are appointment only, working three days a week, one day from home. Three-quarters of our customers are coming back by appointment only, wearing a mask and following the procedures everyone’s asking for. We do some online, but people still want to take the time to come in and do. Ninety-eight percent of them are wearing a mask when they’re coming in. If not, I give them a mask. It’s been great. We can’t really complain. We’re blessed to be able to be open.   

Stir Crazy Cafe, 4015 MacArthur Avenue, with Vickie Hall

“After we shut down in mid-March we did some updates to the interior,” Vickie Hall says.  “Obviously, we cleaned everything very well, but we also put up a new mural where our art used to hang so we have a nice beautiful mural until we can have art hanging up again when people are inside. We tried doing some service from the front door before we had to shut down in March, then we opened back up in mid-May with contactless curbside pick-up. You could either pick up from the table, or we’d bring it to your car, and we’re still continuing to do that. It’s going very well and everyone has really supported us in that, so it’s been great. Before, we always had regulars that we’d see inside the coffee shop, but since we started just doing the pick-up out front we have regulars again, and some of them are people we never saw before. They’re new customers and they keep coming back, and we really appreciate all the support. We reduced a lot of the items on the menu, just kind of pared it down and made it simpler, but also brought in a lot of new ingredients and fresh new things.”   

  The Cane Connection, 6941 Lakeside Avenue, Steve Culler

“We re-cane chairs,” says Steve Culler. “During the pandemic because of the nature of our business we were able to stay open and work through the whole thing because there are only two of us in the shop, and when people come in they bring their chairs to our patio. Everybody of course is wearing a mask. So we stay outside, we keep our distance. We either receive the chairs from the customer or the chair is picked up by the customer. In any case there is very little contact, and we’ve managed to pull it off pretty well. We’re still open, and nobody’s sick. Business is fine. We didn’t lose any time at all.”

the mill on MacArthur, 4023 MacArthur Avenue, with Amy Foxworthy

“We actually closed on March 18 and didn’t reopen until the end of May,” Amy Foxworthy remembers. “During that period we were able to come in and just completely clean everything. We took out all of the equipment from the kitchen, we did some repairs, and just did a really thorough deep-cleaning. Partly so we could stay active and also so that a few folks who were struggling getting any kind of unemployment could make a little bit of money in the interim until we were able to reopen. The majority of people were able to get unemployment, but a lot of folks never received it; I don’t think a lot of people realize that. We also had a number of folks who never received the stimulus check. We were also really worried about reopening knowing that when we did reopen it would have to be mostly delivery and carry-out, which we’re continuing right now. We went ahead and switched up our point-of-sales system to allow for an online ordering platform so that folks could do curbside and order and pay online instead of coming in, making it a little easier and streamlined for everybody. A lot of people want to come in and dine in, but unfortunately right now it’s just not feasible. We would only be able to really seat three or four tables at most with the social distancing and that would be impractical at this point. It’s always been a wonderful neighborhood, everyone’s always been very supportive. It’s lovely that people are excited about what we’re doing. It’s still all very hopeful.”

Zorba’s Pizza Express, 4026 MacArthur Avenue, with Jimmy Contreras

“What we doing here in Zorba’s is use the masks and the gloves for everyone’s protection,” says Jimmy. “The business is doing well. We are staying busy. We still got the same delivery and pick-up. Inside we never really had much of a business. So not much has really changed for us, except the masks and gloves.”   

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