Ellicott City Business Closes Its Doors Due To Coronavirus
ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The coronavirus has claimed another business. Jaxon Edwin Social House in Ellicott City survived two floods and underwent a makeover on Gordon Ramsey's 24 Hours to Hell and Back show to emerge as a coffee shop, bar and barbership rolled into one. But the redo wasn't enough to survive the pandemic. The company shared its fate on Facebook.
"It gives me great pain to let everyone know that we will sadly be ceasing operations for Jaxon Edwin. This company started as kickstarter and ended with a Gordon Ramsay remodel. After filming, we were on fire-standing room only each weekend. My chef Brenden says we were on our way to building something beautiful. Then three days later we were shut down due to this pandemic," owner Jeff Braswell shared on the company's Facebook page.
While the business reopened in May following established guidelines, the pressure of owing 100 percent of the rent during a time when they were reduced to 50 percent revenue at best has "become too much to bear."
"While our landlords got most of their burden deferred for several months, we owe 100 percent. So we’ve tried to reopen per the law, which did not cover expenses. Many people are not yet comfortable with indoor seating, but sadly we were not able to obtain a solution to bring in that business. Several Fridays ago we had a band play and then we later found out that two customers had tested positive for COVID-19. I do not want to bear the guilt if someone were to get sick due to us being open," Braswell wrote.
He publicly apologized to her family for "putting us in an awful financial situation" and to the community.
"All I ever wanted to do was create a cool concept for this town and help boost EC. I’m sorry to the community for not taking the time to get to know you all. I brought a very successful company to Main Street four years ago which led to having three businesses at once. My biggest regret was not getting to know more of you. I should have taken more time to meet you all. Finally, I’m sorry to my loyal customers and staff. I know you all love our concept and it brings me to tears (if you can believe that) to know we can’t serve you anymore. Maybe one day when the world is healthy we can try again, but in the meantime, please stay well," she wrote.
Customers and residents flooded the Facebook thread thanking the owners for bringing the business to town. They encouraged him not to give up. He shared that plans are in motion to possibly bring a new tenant into the space that would retain the barbershop and social house on Main Street.
"We’re a long way from a done deal but it would be great to keep a similar concept in place to help the town ... Thank you again for all the support and hopefully we can get the current space reopened soon for you all to enjoy," he shared.
This article originally appeared on the Ellicott City Patch
