Nelson's Catering, other hospitality businesses try to recoup COVID losses; grants to help

For Mindy Beeler, director of business development and a co-owner of Springfield's Nelson's Catering, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have stretched long after the initial emergency ended.

For example, the company lost many of its clients. With sales dropping 93% from 2019 to 2020, they had to let go of some of their caterers due to the lack of business, and planned equipment upgrades were put on hold.

"There were some programs that we could help the military and the Central Illinois Foodbank with, but overall, corporate sales plummeted," Beeler said. "We had to quickly modify the way that we did business and there's a lot of expense in that with going to pre-packaged meals and masked staff. Most of our caterers are thankfully still with us, but we did lose a lot of people just because we didn't have the business to employ them anymore.

We couldn't get staffed, food costs went through the roof, we lost touch with a lot of our corporate customers."

As a result, the company, with a need to build up its workforce and upgrade equipment, applied for grants, including the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Back to Business grants designed to help businesses in the hospitality industry – such as restaurants, hotels and theatres, among others – recoup mony lost during and after the pandemic.

Last week, Nelson's and several other area restaurants received word that they would be receiving between $5,000 and $50,000 in state funds in order to help cover business costs and bring in more workers.

DCEO said that 12 Sangamon County restaurants, three Christian County restaurants, six Logan County restaurants, four Macoupin County restaurants, one Menard County restaurant, two Montgomery County restaurants and seven Morgan County restaurants would be receiving grant money this year, part of $50 million in grant money provided by the agency to restaurants and caterers across the state.

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Nelson's received $50,000. Here's the list of other awards:

Sangamon County: Cured Catering ($15,000) in Buffalo; Crazy Dog Saloon ($50,000) in Cantrall; AJ's Corner ($10,000) and The Creek Pub and Grill ($50,000) in Chatham; Cancun and Final Four Sports Bar and Grill ($50,000 each) in Sherman; Di Piero's ($5,000), Top Cats Chill and Grill, Sgt. Pepper's Cafe, Boyd's New Generation, Tenoch's Tamales, Charlie Parker's Diner, Pam's Jailhouse, Poe's Catering, The Corner Pub and Grill and Sky Lounge ($50,000 each) in Springfield.

Christian County: Arpeggio Winery ($5,000) and Tres Compadres ($25,000) in Pana; The Funky Monkey ($25,000) in Taylorville.

Logan County: 217 Roadhouse Bar and Grill and Country-Aire Restaurant ($20,000 each) in Atlanta; El Mazatlan ($25,000) and Nuthatch Hill BBQ Company ($15,000) in Lincoln; Hilltop Catering ($20,000) in Mt. Pulaski; The Village Pub ($10,000) in New Holland.

Macoupin County: Sol de Mexico ($10,000) and Uptown Tavern ($50,000) of Carlinville; Joker's Wild Sporting Clays and Restaurant ($25,000) in Chesterfield; Jo's Place Restaurant and Bar ($50,000) in Virden.

Menard County: Hand of Fate Brewing Company ($50,000) in Petersburg.

Montgomery County: Blake Subs ($50,000) in Hillsboro; Los Rancheros ($50,000) in Litchfield.

Morgan County: Barney's Pub, Mulligan's, Twyford BBQ and Catering ($50,000 each); Future Champions Sports Complex ($5,000) and Los Rancheros ($30,000) in Jacksonville; Evandy's Boatel ($50,000) in Naples; Poppie's Coffee Corner Cafe ($30,000) in Waverly.

To qualify for the grants, the businesses could have no more than 50 employees and must have been established by March 12, 2020, the date that the state's initial emergency declaration for COVID-19 went into effect.

There were no restrictions on how the grants are used. Any business that received a Back to Business grant or more than $10,000 in local funding was not eligible to receive a second award. Those who received Paycheck Protection Program or Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the federal government were eligible.

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DCEO said that the state has provided more than $535 million over the past three years through the Back to Business and Business Interruption grants.

The awards in Sangamon County were announced by State Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, who hailed the $495,000 that would be awarded to the respective restaurants.

"As a lifelong Springfield resident, I know we have a unique restaurant industry," Turner said in a statement. "The Back to Business grants have had a tremendous impact on small business and the owners. This funding will help our favorite restaurants keep their doors open and flourish for years to come."

Beeler said that the impacts of the pandemic have put them behind the eight-ball, as it were; the need to upgrade equipment and vehicles was evident for them, along with the need to incentivize better employment opportunities for their workers. Along with getting new vans and new equipment, Beeler said much of the money will go towards providing better training and bonuses for their workers.

"We're still so far behind on equipment and vans," Beeler said. "In the hospitality industry, it is hard to sell what you can't staff. Most of the world thinks that the industry is back to where it needs to be, but really, there's about half the people doing all of the work. Everybody wears about eight hats and we look around and think, 'Man, if we could get 3-4 more full-time people, that would be a game-changer.'

But we're competing with every other employer out there that is in the same situation; there are fewer people doing the work that needs to be done pre-pandemic."

While times have been tough for Nelson's, Beeler emphatically said that their business is making its way out of the pandemic lull, putting themselves in a position that many other companies weren't able to do. She credits the work ethic of her fellow employees for allowing the business to continue to survive.

"People have worked very hard here the last four years to keep the doors open," Beeler said. "We've succeeded; we're coming out on the other side of the pandemic and lots of catering and hospitality companies did not. That is because a small group of people decided to work hard and keep the doors open. It would have been very easy more than once to just say, 'We're not going to do this anymore.'

We're blessed with a good reputation in Springfield, but this could have ended very differently. This was an industry that didn't ask to be closed and we suffered a lot longer than many of our counterparts. There's something to celebrate here, that a few of us are still open and making it."

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Restaurants receive small business grants to help recoup COVID losses