close

A cup of cheer to coffee shop, other Valley businesses

3 min read

I have tried to be a good storyteller and I believe that now, more than ever, the Mon Valley story needs to be told.

Since March – four months ago now – we have dealt with a lot of troubling news for our small local businesses. Even more troubling has been the inconsistency of the guidance that small business owners, and their customers, have had to navigate.

In the Mon Valley, we are open for business. Small businesses have reopened in some capacity, and are showing signs of optimism about the future, even while dealing with many ongoing challenges related to the pandemic.

Eric and Casey Clark, who own Perked Up Café in Charleroi, have experienced the roller coaster of the COVID-19 pandemic first-hand. Having a conversation with Eric over coffee yesterday, I saw the café is buzzing again. He said, “When this started, we saw a 70% dropoff in even our regular customers.”

The news cycle directly impacts local business. As Eric put it, “People were confused with so much conflicting information coming from so many different directions.” The Clarks have stayed in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, requiring masks to enter the business and social distancing.

The staff of local businesses such as Guttman Energy and Model Cleaners have helped to sustain the café through these uncertain times. A new study by Yale University economists details the drastic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. small businesses and the hourly workers they employ. The café has had to either reduce hours or lay off nearly half of its pre-pandemic staff.

Perked Up Café, which has become a staple along McKean Avenue, the community’s main street, is among the small businesses in the Mon Valley that have navigated the past few months successfully. Many other local small businesses in the economically distressed area have not been so fortunate.

With Washington and Westmoreland counties going to the green phase, a wave of new customers visited Perked Up. Eric said, “Surprisingly, June 2020 was actually better than June 2019, and last week was the best we have seen in 14 months.”

These results have given Eric reason to remain optimistic. “I believe we can return to normal operations in six to nine months.”

The Clarks are seeing some positive changes. In the latest ADP Small Business Report, small businesses across the country added nearly one million jobs between May and June. At the height of the pandemic, small businesses lost more than six million jobs. But for two straight months, ADP has reported job gains for small business. And that’s certainly good news.

Eric Clark, like his fellow Mon Valley entrepreneurs, knows there is still work to do. For example, how can they operate under the new, restrictive conditions and be profitable? These new rules for safe operation will likely become permanent.

Eric Clark’s goal remains clear and twofold: to stay in business and employ their people.

Jamie Protin is founder and principal of The Protin Group in Belle Vernon.

To submit business-related columns, email Rick Shrum at rshrum@observer-reporter.com.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today