May 27, 2020 5 min read

Appropriately named Johnny Humble owns a carpeting store in Waynesburg. He feels as if COVID-19 and the Wolf administration have pulled the rug out from under him.

“Big-box stores are open, and they have more customers in one minute than I have in three months. We’re losing customers to West Virginia,” said the operator of Humble Carpet & Decorating Center, a 46-year-old family business on East High Street.

Humble Carpet closed March 19 when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered a statewide shutdown of all businesses determined to be “non-life-sustaining,” in an attempt to contain the pervasive coronavirus outbreak. Johnny Humble filed for a variance to remain open, but was rejected. Those large competitors, meanwhile – big-box stores like Home Depot – continued to conduct business.

“We had a difficult six weeks,” Humble said, until he was able to reopen May 11, when Greene advanced from the red to the less-restrictive yellow phase. He brought back his employees, but the bottom line hasn’t exactly been enhanced. “It’s about 12 o’clock on a Tuesday and we’ve had one customer so far,” he lamented.

In a few minutes, Humble succinctly outlined the plight confronting small business owners in the midst of a pandemic. He was one of about a half-dozen business people, all from Washington and Greene counties, who spoke Tuesday during a virtual workshop on reopening businesses across Pennsylvania. The state Senate Majority Policy Committee organized the event, at the request of Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Carroll Township). Committee chair David Argall (R-29th District) was the moderator.

Republicans control the Senate, and many of them during the workshop roundly criticized Wolf, a Democrat, for being too restrictive and contradictory in his policies regarding businesses.

“I’ve never seen a program depend on fears and threats that led to implementation,” said Sen. Gene Yaw of the 29th District, near Williamsport. “People are afraid to go to a hospital for treatment.

“Things are so blown out of proportion. And our governor says if you violate this, you are a coward. This is unbelievable.”

“The impact on Pennsylvania’s economy is tremendous,” said Gene Barr, president and chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, a business advocacy association. He said that since the mid-March shutdown, “Pennsylvania has been the strictest state” related to business-operating guidelines. “We’ve had a lot of jobs lost to other states.”

Barr also was one of several staunch proponents in favor of extending legal liability protections to businesses.

One of the main concerns of Steven Shapiro, chief medical and scientific officer for UPMC, is how the shutdowns and partial shutdowns not only are affecting businesses, but how they are affecting people mentally.

The mitigation measures “have helped,” Shapiro said definitively. “The question is how long does this go on. Maybe it’s time to get going.”

Shapiro referred to COVID-19 as a “disease of preexisting conditions. We can manage society in the presence of the pathogen if we manage people with those conditions. Now is exactly the time that we can carefully and cautiously return to the new normal if we protect our vulnerable populations.”

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair), a psychologist, likewise addressed mental impacts, including suicide, that may result from the pandemic. “The key is getting people back to work. Not working makes it hard” to avoid mental impacts.

Restaurants have suffered greatly during the pandemic, limited to takeout and deliver service but no indoor dining. “About 96% of restaurants in Pennsylvania have laid off employees,” said John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association. He added that $1.8 billion in sales have been lost over the past 11 weeks.

One local restaurateur was doing well until the virus entered the Pittsburgh region nearly three months ago. Michael Passalacqua, owner of Angelo’s in North Franklin Township, said his 81-year-old business experienced a 16% increase in sales from 2017 through 2019 – and did well in January and February. Then this.

“No restaurant in the world can operate with 50% occupancy,” which, he said, Angelo’s would require to maintain proper social distancing. “It may take me two to three years to recover. But I see where other (restaurants are), so I say I have it good.”

He got news Tuesday. Passalacqua said the state Liquor Control Board is allowing restaurants to serve alcohol in parking lots and patios, and he immediately set up a 20-by-40-foot tent that can accommodate 40 properly distanced patrons.

The Meadows Racetrack & Casino ceased operations March 16, and Tony Frabbiele is eager to get back on track – especially with West Virginia casinos scheduled to resume operations June 5. “We want to open our doors so we’re not exporting customers to West Virginia,” he said.

“I know Pennsylvanians are ready to come back” – a sentiment expressed often via live stream.