The onset of spring usually means businesses in Black Diamond are gearing up for a busy tourism season, but not this year.
After the Province required all non-essential businesses to shut their doors last month as social distancing becomes the norm in light of COVID-19, only about a dozen remain open with some running on a skeleton staff.
Hard Knox Brewery lost 75 per cent of its revenue within one week, said co-owner Pamela Lyken, forcing the company to lay off five people.
“It all happened so quickly,” she said. “It’s obviously a trying time for everybody.”
With alcohol deemed an essential service, liquor stores across the province continue to order Hard Knox products but Lyken expects business will decline as the unemployment rate climbs.
“I think people in the next couple of weeks are going to notice that their pennies are tighter and, unless they truly need a beer, then the sales will slow down,” she said. “That definitely is a fear.”
The brewery has closed its tap room and reduced its retail hours to two hours four days a week.
“We’ve got to keep the doors open and survive over the next few months so we can have our second year anniversary party in July,” Lyken said.
Lyken is counting on federal and provincial relief programs to keep the brewery afloat while the COVID-19 pandemic plays out.
She plans to apply for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, which provides 75 per cent of employee wages for the first $58,700 earned by employees - up to $847 weekly - from March 15 to June 6. The subsidy applies to businesses that lost 30 per cent or more of their income.
“We qualify for the 75 per cent for the wages so we’ll be able to tap into that to keep our brewer employed, which will be nice,” Lyken said. “He’s our top guy and we don’t want to lose him.”
Lyken may also consider the $40,000 interest-free loan the federal government announced last week for businesses with payrolls of less than $1 million.
“We have to evaluate what that looks like at the end of the year and if it makes financial sense,” she said.
Not all relief programs will help the brewery, such as the Town of Black Diamond’s deferral on town utilities, which gives users until Sept. 15 to pay without incurring interest, Lyken said.
“Our water bill is $3,000 to $4,000 every couple of months,” she said. “If we waited to pay until September it would be $12,000 and if we haven’t made any income that makes no sense at all. You’ve really got to crunch the numbers and think smart about all the handouts.”
Especially helpful for Lyken is the building owner waved the rent.
This is also the case for the Westwood on Government Road.
Westwood owner Erin Kendrick said not having to pay rent helps immensely after she closed the doors to public seating two weeks ago.
Kendrick said she tried to offer takeaway and delivery services, but the risk was too high for her employees and her husband, who is terminally ill.
“We didn’t think we were flattening the curve by people going in and out,” she said.
As a result, Kendrick was forced to lay off 20 employees.
“Everyone has applied for EI, but who knows when that’s coming?” she said. “Most of them are students who live with their parents, but a lot of them are struggling.”
With help from her general manager, Kendrick is offering pre-ordering for specific food items, which are packaged and left for pickup on weekends.
“This is the best way to keep everybody safe,” she said. “I just think everybody needs to stay home as much as possible and have less interactions.”
The pre-ordering has kept business steady for Kendrick.
“We’re making an income,” she said. “That will keep us paying our bills and our head above water. We should be fine until this all blows over.”
Black Diamond special events co-ordinator Kelly Tuck has been connecting with the community’s 168 businesses to learn their status and make them aware of government programs that could help them get through these challenging times.
“Some are waiting for the wage subsidy to be launched that was just announced,” she said. “That means that instead of laying their employees off they are keeping their employees employed and paying 25 per cent of their wages.”
Tuck said the Town provides weekly mail-outs to businesses to keep merchants up to date on regulations and programming.
“As new information comes out we are updating our website,” she said. “There is a lot of programming out there and it’s our job to make sure that our businesses are getting the programming they require.”
Tuck is also helping those who require assistance to fill out documents.
“It’s becoming information overload,” she said. “We’re just making sure people are getting the right information. If they’re not sure, they can give me a call.”
For updated information on COVID-19 releases and relief programs for businesses go to http://town.blackdiamond.ab.ca/485/COVID-19-Information
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