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CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: YOUR INSIGHT
THE MATHIS REPORT
‘A lot ofDaily people Record are worse off Record than weDaily are’ JACKSONVILLE
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Sadler Point Marina owner Brooks Busey says his staff is busier than usual as boat owners take to the water for social distancing. BY MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Moving ahead with a positive outlook
Daily Record
The COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant economic shutdown hasn’t slowed business at Sadler Point Marina. In fact, it probably gave the usual spring surge a boost, said Brooks Busey, owner of Sadler Point Marina at 4599 Lakeside Drive along the Ortega River. The tipping point came March 13, when The Players Championship golf tournament was canceled after the first round because PGA Tour officials didn’t want the thousands of people in the gallery possibly exposing each other to the coronavirus. “We usually ramp up in the spring, but the weekend they canceled TPC, it went crazy,” Busey said. Sadler Point is a full-service marine maintenance center for vessels from skiffs to yachts and an authorized Yamaha outboards dealer. With people wanting to make sure their boats are shipshape for the season – and looking for something to do with the small-group social distancing mandate in effect – Busey and his staff of certified mechanics are busier than usual. “When you’re on your boat out in the water – that’s social distancing,” Busey said. The only loss for Busey’s spring season was the cancellation of the Jacksonville In-Water Boat Show April 3-5 at Metropolitan Park Marina because the city’s sports and entertainment venues are closed until further notice. “We are blessed. A lot of people are worse off than we are,” Busey said. Busey and his partners bought the former Pier
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“I’ve seen several business cycles,” says entrepreneur and ExecHQ principal Bruce Fafard. “We always come back.”
Special to the Daily Record
Sadler Point Marina owner Brooks Busey said business “went crazy” after The Players Championship golf tournament was canceled March 13.
17 and Ship’s Locker adjacent to the marina in 2010 and developed the property into a retail, small office and restaurant space. The Loop restaurant moved its Ortega location there in 2017, followed by Hightide Burrito Co. this past January. With seating restaurant patrons in dining rooms currently prohibited, the two businesses are relying on takeout and delivery to keep the doors open and employees working. “The Loop was established, but Hightide has had only had a few months there. They have both been impacted pretty significantly, so we’re working with them on the rent,” Busey said. MMARBUT@JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
KEEPING CLOSE – FROM A DISTANCE Since March 13, city event venues, stores, restaurants, malls, entertainment centers, churches and businesses shut down and laid off workers or sent them home to telecommute to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Daily Record will report how local small business owners are dealing with the imposed social isolation.
A self-described serial entrepreneur, Bruce Fafard said he started four companies, sold two successfully and one didn’t work out. He came out whole with the other. At 62, Fafard has navigated recessions and economic Fafard shocks, taking his lumps as a small business owner and a credit union CEO. Now he’s working through the COVID-19 pandemic, with a positive outlook. “I’ve seen several business cycles,” he said. “We always come back.” Since February, Fafard has been leading ExecHQ in Jacksonville as a principal in the Phoenix-based consulting firm’s Northeast Florida office. Before that, he led JackSEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
Peterbrooke moving back to 100 W. Bay St. The city is reviewing renovation plans for Peterbrooke Chocolatier at 100 W. Bay St., the seven-story building that VyStar Credit Union bought next to its 23-story tower. Dana B. Kenyon Co. is the contractor for VyStar’s improvements, including the $255,294 build-out of 1,433 square feet on the first floor for the Jacksonville-based Peterbrooke Chocolatier candy shop. RS&H Inc. is the architect. Peterbrooke leased space in the West Bay Street building before VyStar bought it in February 2019 and began to gut it for renovations. The chocolate shop temporarily relocated into the VyStar Tower at 76 S. Laura St.
VOLUME 107, NO. 115 • ONE SECTION