23 minute read
Streetalk
from c-2021-06-03
Will you continue to wear a mask after state drops the requirement?
Asked at Thursday Night Market
Andrew Lemanek
Dialysis tech Even though I’m vaccinated, I will—indoors more so than outdoors. It’s not for me, but if it makes anyone else around me feel better, that’s what I’m going to continue wearing it for.
Amber Larson
Career advisor Probably yes. I just know that only 50 percent of California is vaccinated, and even though I’m vaccinated, I just don’t trust people, basically.
Amir Rezaii
I.T. security engineer Yes, absolutely. [For] protection of myself and my family—I have people [near me] with immune deficiencies. There’s not any reason to take a chance on it.
Social justice worker Absolutely. I’ve already thought about it. My friends have thought about it. We’re wearing our masks. I’m vaccinated; I was [among] the first in line. Yeah, I’m wearing my mask.
Local news and arts coverage presented much like the newspaper version of the CN&R, with interviews with the people in the stories and with the writers reporting them, updates and commentary on local issues, community dialogue, arts/music previews and reviews, and spotlights on upcoming community events and entertainment.
Thursdays, 5:00–5:30pm
Local news and arts coverage presented much like the newspaper version of the CN&R, with interviews with the people in the stories and with the writers reporting them, updates and commentary on local issues, community dialogue, arts/music previews and reviews, and spotlights on upcoming community events and entertainment.
Sponsored by: Sunseri Construction, a general contracting company with operations throughout California and Northern Nevada. Founded in the early 1970s, Sunseri partners with mission based nonprofi ts to provide affordable, special needs and senior housing for vulnerable populations. Find Sunseri Construction online at sunsericonstruction.com.
OPEN
Business
as usual?
With California set to reopen fully on June 15, locals wonder what post-pandemic economy will look like for Butte County
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chico News & Review has reported on restaurants that opened just as stay-home mandates were ordered (like vegan pizza makers Pizza Riot and new beermakers Mulberry Station Brewing Co.); highlighted entrepreneurs who lost jobs due to COVID and had to invent their own business (see the Panini Machini food bus); and documented the trials of local businesses of all stripes as they navigated closures, openings, capacity restrictions, grant applications, and health and safety requirements.
Now, as Californians anticipate a full reopening on June 15, many in Butte County wonder what’s in store for the businesses in our area. For this special Business Issue, the CN&R spoke to wide range of locals—owners, business leaders and health officials— about the impact of the past year and what the immediate future holds for our local economy.
RETURN OF
NIGHTLIFE?
After a tumultuous pandemic year, Chico's bars and clubs face uncertainty as state reopens
BY KEN SMITH kens@newsreview.com
Archer Lombardi kicked off 2020 ready for big changes. After nearly a decade dedicated to establishing The Maltese as one of Chico’s cornerstone bars and live performance venues, the business had reached a level of selfsustenance that encouraged him to shift focus. He and his partner invested in a Placer County farm and planned to start a family.
Then COVID-19 came and bars went dark.
“The last year’s been really, really terrible for us, like it has been for so many people,” Lombardi said during a recent phone interview. Like other business owners, Lombardi struggled to make sense of constantly changing health guidelines, weighed the benefits and risks of applying for relief programs and is still navigating complicated application processes. The fact that the bar does not serve food made it ineligible for some aid, and a reliance on concerts, dance nights and drag shows—all events that bring many people close together—leaves its future uncertain, even as California is scheduled to relax COVID-related restrictions June 15.
Other business owners in Chico’s nightclub scene had similar reports: The nature of their business made the pandemic especially difficult to survive, and it’s likely to be a long and complicated road back to normalcy.
Left: A lively crowd fills the outdoor patio area as The Maltese reopens for limited hours last month.
PHOTO BY KEN SMITH Below: Archer Lombardi, owner of The Maltese, stops for a selfie in front of the bar during recent preparations for reopening.
Navigating the pandemic
Lombardi said he’s included staff in discussions about the bar’s operations since the beginning of the pandemic. With consideration
AFFORDABLE AUTOMOTIVE
Affordable Automotive is owned and operated by Mike Button and his family, and has been located in Chico for 25 years. The goal at Affordable Automotive is to provide each customer with honest and reliable auto repairs and services. Voted “Best of Chico” seven times, Affordable Automotive’s reputation has been built on one satisfied customer at a time. Raised in Durham, Button always had a knack for fixing cars. After some time in college, and with inspiration from his father, Button opened his business in 1996 and today has three Chico locations and 16 employees to service and repair any automotive need: 2106 Park Avenue, 906 Nord Avenue, and the classic and custom repair shop, Affordable Automotive Central at 1023 W. 8th Street. Affordable Automotive knows the importance of maintaining a safe, reliable vehicle, and provides honest repairs and quality workmanship that are guaranteed with a three-year, 36,000-mile nationwide warranty. Affordable Automotive is dedicated to maintaining 100% customer satisfaction.
1
YEAR IN BUSINESS
INSPIRE PHYSICAL THERAPY
Born and raised in Paradise, Alan Hivale, DPT started Inspire Physical Therapy, giving his patients the personalized care they deserve, with one-on-one therapy that he personally administrates from start to finish. To better serve the Chico community, Inspire Physical Therapy is a mobile concierge physical therapy practice, breaking the mold of the classic PT clinic. This innovative framework brings the treatment to your home, office or wherever works best for you, providing convenient and personalized care. The Inspire model provides you the unique opportunity to have individualized care in the privacy and comfort of your home or office. This model also allows Alan more time with each person to get his clients back to 100% and reach their goals. Alan is a sports enthusiast and specializes in golf, running, cycling and sports movement. His passion is to help people recover from and prevent injury so they can continue to do activities they love. “Inspire Physical Therapy, where we come to you.”
530.205.3719 WWW.INSPIREPTCHICO.COM
COTTONPARTY
Cottonparty has been serving downtown Chico for 36 years. Angela Youngblood is the third owner of the business and is excited to continue cottonparty’s legacy of helping women feel great while wearing comfortable clothing. Youngblood purchased cottonparty at the beginning of 2020, after working for the previous owner for more than five years. While surviving her first year as a business owner during a pandemic was a difficult task, she feels grateful to our wonderful community for their continued support. “Working with women, I constantly hear all of the ways we internalize how the world looks at our bodies and all the ways we inherit negative self-image from our parents, peers, media, etc. I love helping women break down those negative internal narratives and find clothing that makes them feel great inside and out,” says Youngblood. Cottonparty carries women’s clothing in sizes small through extra large (4-16), with an emphasis on natural fiber and clothing made in the U.S.A. It also has a wide variety of jewelry and accessories.
leather gloves alpaca jackets cashmere socks & sweaters
337 broadway 337 BROADWAY ST. CHICO | 530.893.4923 WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/COTTONPARTYCHICOopen everyday
4
YEARS IN BUSINESS
JEEPTRAIL PRINT SHOP
GREEN BUSINESS
Jeeptrail Print Shop specializes in ecofriendly, water-based printing, using high quality ink components, to bring your vision to life. Jeeptrail is the screen print shop that loves innovative design, off-the-wall graphics and creative people. Owner and artist Tom Little is Chico’s small local printer inspired by small businesses, musicians, educators and creative customers. Little’s background includes: working rock musician, designing and creating skateboards and snowboards for professional athletes, and display fabrication for national retail brands. He expanded his T-shirt printing knowledge working for a leading manufacturer of graphic apparel. Producing over one million shirts annually was a highlight of his 25 years of print and production experiences. His passion for the arts, small businesses, local artists, community organizations, musicians and bands brought him back to artistic roots to pursue his mission: making your image as good as it gets. Why the name Jeeptrail? … you’ll have to ask Tom.
1x6 (1-10 V)
NIGHTLIFE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
for the safety of employees and patrons, he decided in March of last year that the bar would remain closed indefinitely. It just reopened in May with limited capacity (patrons are seated on the outdoor patio) and limited hours.
“That put us in an awkward position for the most easily accessible, forgivable loans—the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] loan,” he said of the decision to stay closed. “We would’ve been on the hook to pay employees, and pay them more than they would make on unemployment, with nothing for them to do. With the set of rules ever-changing, the risk factor of going that route and then not having the loan forgiven was too high.”
Lombardi said the bar had been closed for several months before receiving its first bit of aid, a $10,000 grant from the California Small Business Association. The business also received an EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) loan—which must be paid back, with interest. As expenses never stopped mounting, Lombardi said that money was spent swiftly after it arrived.
Considering the bar’s commitment to the Chico community, Lombardi said he found it extra painful The Maltese was excluded from the first round of aid given to 80 local businesses from the Aaron Rodgers Small Business COVID-19 Fund, operated by the North Valley Community Foundation. Though some bars were included in that batch, they had to serve food to be eligible.
Some local bars rely on live performances to attract customers, yet crowds of people present a potential concern coming off a pandemic. Pictured, clockwise from left: Jenny Don’t & The Spurs play a pre-pandemic show at The Maltese; the outdoor stage/soundsystem at Argus is revamped and ready for shows; the Pub Scouts—longstanding Duffy’s Friday happy hour performers—are set to return to the bar in late June.
—Archer Lombardi, owner, The Maltese
element of some of the funding really rubbed me the wrong way,” he said. The Maltese was included in a second round of businesses awarded money from the Rodgers’ fund, for which Lombardi said he is “100 percent grateful.”
As of press time, Lombardi was eagerly awaiting the results of a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Though hopeful, he described that application process as “another rigmarole” complete with website bugs, unexpected date changes and conflicting messages regarding the status of his application.
“I’m hoping that aid will dig me out of the massive hole I’m sitting at the bottom of,” Lombardi said.
In separate interviews, two of Lombardi’s fellow local bar owners—Scott Baldwin of Argus Bar + Patio and Doug Roberts of Duffy’s Tavern— shared similar pandemic frustrations and the measures they took to survive.
NIGHTLIFE CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
Both bars availed themselves of PPP loans, and both opened to some extent during the pandemic. Both also suffered substantial losses and are holding out hope that business returns with the June 15 reopening.
Roberts said his first attempt at opening, last summer, was “an absolute nightmare.”
“It was so restrictive, and working within the boundaries was impossible,” he added. “We had to serve food, so we partnered with [Main Street Pizza]. We were inside, with tables spread far out.
“Usually, you just walk up to a bartender, order a drink, they make it and that’s that. But at that point, the bartender took a food and drink order, ran the order next door, went back to pick up the food and then served it. … The amount of labor for every order was just ridiculous.
Duffy’s also delivered drink and cocktail makings locally, a model that Argus’ Baldwin dug even deeper into.
“I actually bought a liquor store license so that I could launch an e-commerce site,” Baldwin said. With that, he started a monthly subscription site selling the necessary liquor and mixers to make craft cocktails, called the Argus Monster Crate (argusmon stercrate.com). The boxes are being shipped out for their eighth month to about 140 subscribers. Baldwin said he would need 500 to 1,000 subscribers to be truly successful; he’s committed to the new venture.
Back on stage
Lombardi said his entire staff—which was already “small and like a family”— have returned since The Maltese opened its patio on weekends. He’s also hired two servers to facilitate the current setup, in which patrons are
—Doug Roberts, owner, Duffy’s Tavern
Top: Before COVID, band’s like Chico-based Radio Relapse enjoyed up-close interaction with the audience at The Maltese. What the future hold for live performances at the bar is uncertain.
PHOTO BY KEN PORDES
Right: Pre-June 15, Duffy’s Tavern is open with outdoor seating and a reduced number of indoor tables.
PHOTO BY JASON CASSIDY
met at the door, led to the patio and served drinks.
Although indoor gatherings will be allowed as of June 15, Lombardi said The Maltese will proceed with caution. He’s considering requiring vaccine cards for indoor events but realizes that’s a controversial and complicated undertaking.
“We’re not going to do anything that makes staff or patrons feel unsafe,” he said. “Until all
NIGHTLIFE CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
INK CAPITAL SOLUTIONS
Ink Capital Solutions supplies customized funding for your business venture, including loans to the cannabis industry. ICS has the ability to fund businesses that more traditional leads may not through Working Capital and Bridge Loans, MultiFamily and Commercial Loans, and more. It can also save you time by having your loan or lease directed to the most appropriate funding source. A bank has one program, but Ink Capital Solutions has hundreds of programs available for their clients. These funding sources are monitored daily for the best interest rates and terms available. Ink Capital Solutions will help determine the best financial route for your company’s growth. And, once a lender is identified for your financial needs, ICS will help package the transaction, in accordance with the lender’s requirements, in the fastest and most efficient manner possible. “When the bank says no, we say yes.” Get the funding you deserve from the solution specialist at Ink Capital Solutions.
888.571.9711 INKCAPITALSOLUTIONS.COM
1
YEAR IN BUSINESS
PEARL CONSULTING
Did you know that your business’s ongoing success comes from the relationships you build with customers who value who you are – not just what you sell or the service you provide? Who you are isn’t easily packaged in a standard concept, so Pearl Consulting collaborates to design marketing plans that authentically communicate with your ideal client. You know, the ones you wish you had more of. Maybe you had to pivot due to the pandemic or you just see the need to step your marketing up. How aware are you of the changes in consumer patterns that affect your target client? Through quality online content, website and logo design, social media management and search engine optimization, people can find you, learn about you and connect with you. Pearl Consulting breaks digital marketing down into easy-to-understand terms with actionable items to accomplish your goals. Call today to book your discovery meeting and start showing clients why they should choose you –instead of your competitor.
PLANT LOVE
Everyone is always welcome at Plant Love – regardless of your previous knowledge or the size of your plant collection. We are your home for houseplants and strongly believe that more plants equal more happiness. Having faced hardship and challenges with chronic Lyme disease, owner Scott Peterson has proven what it really means to turn a negative into a positive and a challenge into an opportunity. His passion and knowledge for plants and pottery, plus his decades of experience, all come together in his beautiful store. Plant Love Chico provides an amazing selection of houseplants, cactus and succulents, pottery, seminars, workshops, gifts and more. Peterson and his team offer expert plant care advice and can help you find the right plant for any space!
Come by to learn more, grow your plant family or just chat.
4
YEARS IN BUSINESS
GREEN BUSINESS
HEMPFUL FARMS
Hempful Farms opened its doors in Chico with the goal of supplying the area with CBD-rich hemp products. It supplies head-to-toe CBD products for you, as well as CBD products for your pets. The range of products includes CBD oils and capsules, CBD muscle rubs and patches. It also carries a variety of dog and cat treats, as well as oils for your pets, to help with many issues. Hempful Farms grows and manufactures all of its own hemp and CBD oils to deliver their full spectrum while retaining the naturally occurring synergistic cannabinoid and terpenes that provide your body with the all-natural medicinal benefits. Grown at the farm, all products are lab-tested to ensure that you’re receiving the purest and most superior quality possible. Staff at Hempful Farms loves to serve the Chico community and give as much information and education on CBD as possible. For any hemp or CBD related questions, ask them on Instagram @hempful_farms_chico, call or visit the website.
THE ALLIES PUB
The Allies Pub is a British-themed pub hidden away in the heart of downtown Chico off of 5th Street. Walk through the courtyard next to the Bank of America parking lot, guarded by three horse heads, and you’ll be transported back to Victorian London. The beautiful patio with ivy-covered brick walls is naturally shaded by mature trees. The pub decor is reminiscent of British pubs and includes traditional hand-pulled beer engines. The pub exclusively serves British and American Ales from their own British Bulldog Brewery located here in Chico. The proprietary recipes and 18th century brewing techniques create an authentic and relaxed pub atmosphere for all ages. (Feel free to bring your well behaved fur-friends to the patio.) If you’re not a beer lover, never fear. The menu includes a rotating Lassen Traditional Cider, along with over 20 wines from the Allies favorite small family wineries. The “Pub Grub” menu features local produce and is based on traditional family recipes including Bangers and Mash, Meat Pies and Pasties. Cheers!
21
YEARS IN BUSINESS
KNOCKOUT COLLISION REPAIR
Knockout Collision Repair is Chico’s high-tech auto body shop specializing in complete collision repairs, painting and restoration. Knockout Collision works with all insurance companies and always keeps your safety as its top priority. Homegrown in Chico, Knockout Collision began serving drivers in 1999, with a primary goal of giving local residents a reliable and trusted source for high-quality collision repairs. Knockout’s auto body technicians have the advanced resources and extensive training required to repair all models of cars and trucks, providing a wide range of services that span from eco-friendly auto body painting to dent removal and more. The team at Knockout always handles the fine details ensuring every vehicle they service is perfectly restored. If your vehicle needs auto body repairs or painting, its staff will happily provide you with outstanding service and expert repairs backed up with a lifetime guarantee.
my employees are on board, we’re going to be safe and continue to watch out for community.”
After restrictions on outdoor seating were loosened last year, Duffy’s secured a couple of parklets—sections of sidewalk and street for picnic tables set up behind road barriers —which Roberts said has been a boon to business in recent months.
Roberts said he’s inquired with the city, but has yet to receive a definitive answer, about whether outdoor seating will continue, but said doing so will require permits from both the city of Chico and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Regarding live entertainment, Duffy’s manager Scott Barwick said the bar plans to start phasing weekly live musical performances by the Pub Scouts back into the schedule by the end of June and Wednesday Dance Nights in July. The first evening concert there will be held July 10, featuring locals The Empty Gate and Bay Area band Cindy.
Barwick said there will likely be lessened capacity and restrictions on some level but that it’s too early to say what those might be.
As for Baldwin at Argus, even with his ambitious delivery venture, his main focus is on the brick-andmortar bar’s future. Like Lombardi, he’s spent a lot of money and tremendous effort in recent years to establish the bar—especially its back patio area—as a music venue. He said at the time of the shutdown, Argus was hosting 60 shows a year and building momentum. When California opens up fully, he said the Argus is ready to rock.
“They lift restrictions the 15th and our first show [with Pat Hull] is booked for the 17th,” he said. The concerts will be outdoors, and many restrictions—like masks— will be done.
“We’ve taken this whole thing very seriously,” Baldwin said about the bar’s adherence to state mandates during the pandemic. “We’ll keep up the cleaning and a slightly less occupancy, but as for the rest … it’s all going away.” Ω
In order to stay afloat during the pandemic, Argus Bar + Patio started Monster Crate, a subscription service featuring home-delivered craft cocktail kits.
FOR MORE BUSINESS, SEE NEWSLINES ON PAGE 16
