Indy restaurant owner waits to reopen while neighbors in other counties get green light
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Some Indianapolis restaurant owners with dining rooms near the Marion County border are not thrilled that they’re just 600 feet away from being able to reopen.
On 96th Street in Hamilton County, patrons can sit down at a table and have a nice meal.
An invisible line may end up being the thing that kills business for restaurants a few hundred feet south in Marion County.
A2Z Cafe is a mom-and-pop restaurant that’s been open for five years in River Ridge Crossing. But during that short time, they’ve been hit by roadblock after roadblock.
“Small kitchen fire, which closed us down. We had an unexpected flood in the dining room, which closed us down. We had the construction on the roundabouts, which prevented traffic from coming into the strip center,” said co-owner Gina Rosenow. “We overcame all of those.”
Then just after expanding their dining room, the virus hit. The restaurant operators thought their troubles would be over soon as restaurants reopened and they could resume serving patrons in their dining rooms. But, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s announcement of an extended stay-at-home order along with a rejected small-business loan came as unwelcome surprises to the struggling business.
“A lot of nasty 4-letter words,” Rosenow said. “But then our hearts sank because we actually thought we had a shot of opening.”
Rosenow says the restaurant can seat about five people on the patio, but that won’t help with recovering much.
“If those 4 or 5 people each order $100 worth of food, sure it could help,” Rosenow said. “But realistically, no.”
Rosenow says it doesn’t help knowing they might have been able to more easily recover if their business sat on the other side of the road.
“Why is it OK to travel just on that invisible county line?” Rosenow asked. “If you are a Marion County resident you can go to Hamilton, you can go to Johnson County. But what stops you from bringing the virus back into Marion County?”
Rosenow says she’s trying to stay optimistic, but the restaurant is already at a disadvantage compared to neighbors across the street. Any more road blocks will make it harder and harder to stay open.
“Things aren’t looking good for small businesses in Marion County,” Rosenow said.
A2Z Cafe owners know they’re not the only local restaurant in Marion County struggling right now. They say to help them and others, customers can keep doing curbside pickup as much as possible to keep small businesses afloat.