Bruno Falkenstien met with us to discuss his experiences as a business owner throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and his experience as a local business owner in Pass-a-Grille. Bruno and his brother opened the Hurricane in 1977, starting out as a breakfast eatery. With over forty years of experience in the restaurant industry, Bruno shares firsthand the struggles his restaurant faced during the height of the pandemic. He elaborates and shares that as a business owner who was forced to shut down, he was left with an excess of food supplies for his restaurant.

Bruno also gave insight into when his restaurant was able to reopen-- he shares that the only staff working was him, his brother, and one cook, and they were operating on a strictly carry-out basis. Due to the nature of the Hurricane as a destination restaurant, Bruno speaks to the financial impacts the virus took on their business while they were restricted to take-out orders only. In regards to the future, Bruno is remaining hopeful - but cautious - and hopes that business will continue to grow.

Cindy Biggs met with us to discuss her experience as a server in the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cindy has been a server for over sixteen years, and provides critical insight to the changes that were implemented throughout the course of the pandemic. Like many individuals, Cindy initially thought that the notorious Coronavirus was trifling, and never expected to have businesses shut down for six weeks. She spoke about the restructuring of the business to adapt to CDC guidelines and efforts to keep the businesses open.

In regards to the business restructuring Cindy was a part of, she shared that she was lucky enough to work for a restaurant where most of the seating is outdoors, which allowed the restaurant to continue to operate under government regulations. However, the emotional toll was high, as she was unable to see her elderly mother.

When asked about her feelings on the future, Cindy shares that she is nervous for the colder months to come in Florida, as she has seen cases already rising in the northern states with cooler temperatures. In the end, she is optimistic for the long term future in regards to effects from the virus, but is anxious about the short term with so much uncertainty still prevalent. In the meantime, she says she will continue to take precautionary measures and remain hopeful for the future.

Krystal Landers met with us to discuss her experience as a server during the COVID-19 experience. While she has only lived in Florida for the last seven years, she has been in the restaurant industry for over fifteen years. She begins by sharing insights and frustrations about working in the restaurant industry during this time: a large portion of restaurant workers live day-to-day based off of their tips and wages, and the uncertainty of the virus has taken a toll. Krystal provides insight to her daily struggles of being mandated to wear masks, as she works long shifts outside in Florida’s brutal heat.

In regards to the business reopening, Krystal shared that in a normal year, this season is slow for them. However, due to the virus, as soon as they reopened, they were busier and making more money than they would in a normal year. She accredits this spike in business to people being tired of staying home and isolated. When asked about the future, Krystal says that she is hopeful. While she is unsure of when we will return to a sense of normalcy, she is sure that this community will survive this hardship.

Tina Delong met with us to discuss her experience with COVID-19 in the restaurant industry. Tina is actually new to the Pinellas Gulf Beaches, and moved to the area in the middle of the pandemic. While she is a new addition to the Hurricane, Tina has been working in the restaurant industry since she was sixteen years old. Tina shares that at her old job, they were shut down in the middle of March, weeks before many of the other shutdowns, and were told that it would only last for ten days. Tina ended up being out of work from March to July.

When asked how the virus has impacted her life, Tina shares that she feels as if she hasn’t stopped living her normal life. As a new Florida resident, she speaks to the blessings that the beach provides, as well as the weather conditions that welcome a plethora of outdoor activities for her and her family to enjoy. She says that her family is still taking precautions by wearing their masks, but that they have been able to visit all of the local theme parks Florida has to offer.

In regards to the future, Tina says that she thinks everyone is anxious for the future. She shares that she doesn't want her daughter to grow up thinking that mask-wearing is normal.

Jackie Hollenback met with us to discuss her experience with the COVID-19 pandemic as a local business owner. The owner of the Seahorse restaurant for over forty years, Jackie provides firsthand knowledge of the pandemic and its effects on the restaurant industry. Jackie shared that due to state and county ordinances, they had to close the restaurant from March to May. She elaborates and says that the effects of the virus can still be felt today: they are operating at half capacity, their bar seating remains closed, and they have permanently lost numerous members of their staff. Jackie discussed how their restaurant is still operating understaffed, and talked about how her and other restaurant owners in the area are having difficulty finding staff willing to work during this pandemic.

In regards to the future, Jackie tells us that a large part of running a business is problem-solving. She says that if business restructuring has to take place, then they will adapt in order to do that. At this time, Jackie doesn’t think that food delivery apps will be very popular in this particular area. Like most of the restaurants in the Pass-a-Grille area, they are destination spots in which people want the in-person experience more than just ordering online and eating the food itself. Regardless, she remains hopeful for the future.

We met with the general manager of the Frog Pond to capture his views on the impact of Covid-19 on the Frog Pond restaurant. Alex has worked at the Frog Pond (in the general manager role) since 2013, although he began working as a server at a separate restaurant in his teenage years. His role at the Frog Pond along with his lengthy career in this industry enabled him to provide insight into how the Pandemic impacted the overall business, as well as the day-to-day operations.

The Frog Pond has been open for almost 40 years, and in this time, it has developed special relationships with the local community, sponsoring advertisements, raffles, and charity events in addition to providing hospitality and delicious food. Due to the pandemic, the Frog Pond had to implement changes that would maximize customer and employee safety while striving to maintain a presence in the community.

Alex discusses the close interactions that hospitality workers have with customers and how both individuals and this sector of the economy is at high risk. He was appreciative of the community as well as of the media coverage the restaurant industry has gotten throughout the pandemic. To him, philanthropic efforts by members of the community, as well as many government stimulus programs made a tremendous impact on many restaurants. He concluded by remembering some of the important people associated with the restaurant that passed away due to the virus. Overall, he expressed optimism and gratitude.