Restaurants face myriad new issues post-COVID

ALBANY — Restaurants in Albany and other southwest Georgia communities are, to sometimes extremely varying degrees, going through a post-COVID sea change that has some of them struggling to keep their doors open.

With a shrinking applicant pool of employees and food and supply prices that have already gone through the roof and are still climbing, veteran Albany restaurateurs are adjusting on the fly to a new reality.

“There are a multitude of reasons for the changes we’re seeing in this business now,” Bo Henry, who with partner Stewart Campbell owns the popular Harvest Moon, The Catch and other food-related businesses through their Stewbos company, said Monday. “The cost of food is out of sight. Labor, if you can get it, is a tough market now. And the cost of paper and cleaning products has gone up right along with the food.

“Plus, you have to realize that the way people dine out now has changed. They go to the grocery store; they know prices are going up. You have to deal with the fact that their priorities have changed.”

Stewbos’ La Luna restaurant closed recently after a relatively short stay at its 1935 Dawson Road address. Henry said that the location of the business was not a real factor in the closure.

“People say ‘Nothing is going to work’ at a specific location when a certain number of businesses don’t work there,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s right. There were five or so restaurants within a seven-year period before we decided to move Harvest Moon from downtown (to 2347 Dawson Road). And that’s worked well for us.

“I think the right business can work at any location.”

B.J. Fletcher, the owner/operator of BJ’s Country Buffet and BBQ at 2401 Dawson Road, said that after a period of post-COVID malaise, her business has started to pick back up. So much so, in fact, that she’s decided to bring back specials to entice new customers to the establishment that has been at its location for the last 22 years.

“We just had our biggest Easter ever, and we expect to have very big Mothers and Fathers Days,” Fletcher said. “So we’re seeing customers come back almost to pre-COVID levels. But the biggest problem we face — and this is pretty much industrywide, the mom and pops and the corporate franchises — is the cost of food, and trying to hold it down so that customers can afford to eat at our restaurants. Ours is a business that is not a necessity; people can cook their own food.

“But costs are hitting everybody. I went to Sam’s Club and bought a carton of meat this week that cost me $906. Two weeks ago it was $706, and four weeks ago it was around $700. Vegetables I just bought for $1,600 were $1,400 four weeks ago. That’s what we’re fighting.”

Fletcher said her response is to offer bargains that both she and customers can live with.

“Here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to offer the Family Feast value packs that we had before COVID — meals, and we’re known for our portions — for a family of four for $32 and $38 for a family of six,” she said. “And I’m going to hold my prices through the summer and continue to honor punch cards where after 12 times of eating with me, the 13th is free.

“I’m also going to have drawings for a meal for 10 on Mothers Day and Fathers Day. With the price of paper products tripling during COVID — even though they’re back down a bit now, we’ve had to struggle along with our customers. Many of us wouldn’t have survived those first couple of years after the pandemic without PPP funding, but there’s none of that now. We have to be creative.”

Albany’s Mellow Mushroom franchise did not really have to struggle through the post-COVID issues that plagued many local restaurants, owner Lisa Lewis said. In fact, she noted, the restaurant has been “jamming out” since it re-opened.

“For a long time, even after protocols were lifted, we seated customers at every other booth,” Lewis said. “They adapted to that for a while, but eventually it was just time (to fully open to customers). And things have been very steady since then. We really haven’t seen a downturn and are already back to levels before COVID.”

Lewis said she expects an even stronger push in the second week of May when Mellow Mushroom celebrates its 50th anniversary. The restaurant will offer new menu items like sriracha wings, a chopped salad, and Super Pep and Marley pizzas.

“Ten years ago, during our 40th year celebration, we offered mini pizzas at 1974 (when the first Mellow Mushroom opened) prices,” she said. “There were people lined up outside the door into the parking lot waiting to get in.

“We’ll have different specials this time, but I expect it’s going to be all hands on deck. We’re excited about the possibilities, and we’re getting ready right now.” 

Staff Photo; Tara FletcherStaff Photo: Tara Fletcher

Staff Photo; Tara Fletcher