The business community in the Monadnock region and beyond has taken a big hit due to measures put in place to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
Restaurants have adjusted to offer take out only or close down completely, retailers have switched their signs to closed for the foreseeable future and employees have been laid off and turned to unemployment benefits, which are being given out at a staggering rate.
But for one section of the business sector, the unknown of when they can open has left owners and employees wondering what will happen if the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into the spring affecting seasonal operations.
Businesses had been ramping up for their seasons, ordering product, hiring employees and planning to ensure all aspects of the businesses were ready for opening day. But with newer restrictions laid out last week, deeming only essential businesses could be open for now, those plans are now in a state of uncertainty with no real timeline for when things will change.
As of Monday, Kimball Farm General Manager Lisa Hunt said the plan is to open April 16 with some obvious modifications to how business is conducted.
“And tomorrow that might not be the plan,” Hunt said.
Hunt said Kimball Farm does a good amount of business through take out, so there is a reason to stick with opening just a week later than they typically would.
“The question is how do we do it so people won’t come in contact with each other, and it is tricky,” Hunt said.
There have been a number of different ideas of how to ensure customers can still order food and ice cream, while keeping with the practice of social distancing and keeping every one safe.
“Customers will have to be a little patient because it’s a learning curve for everyone,” she said.
After the outbreak of COVID-19, Kimball Farm canceled its hiring event. But with so many returning employees, especially ones that are now looking for increased hours, Hunt said as of right now the staff looks to be in good shape.
“I have people that want to work days, people that want to work nights,” Hunt said. “But I tell them that they’re going to have to do it all.”
Typically, Hunt would have a staff approaching 75, but right now there are about 50 to put on the schedule.
“What I have will work for quite a while,” she said.
While the food and ice cream service part is being worked out, the gift shop and dining room, which seats over 100 people, will be closed, as will the outdoor seating.
“As little as we can do and still get food and ice cream to our customers is what our model should be,” Hunt said. “And we’ll better serve for our customers if we do that.”
Both Annie Card, owner of Hilltop Golf Course in Peterborough, and Doni Ash, owner of the Shattuck Golf Course, are moving forward as if they were opening as usual. That’s because they have to.
If the fairways and greens are not cared for at this critical juncture, it could mean costly maintenance and recovery expenses in the future. So instead of waiting to see when and if they can open for the season, the plan for both is to get the golf course ready for the season and hope that at some point the seasonal activity is deemed allowed.
“We start putting a lot of money, a lot of hours into it in the beginning of April,” Card said. “Because if I don’t take care of it, it will never be a golf course again. So we either have to be all in or all out.”
With such a short window for business, losing a month of revenue is really like losing two months for a year round business, Ash said.
While there is a significant amount of money that comes in from memberships and green fees, the real boost to the businesses comes in the form of events, weddings and outings held in their function rooms.
“The function business is really half the business, at least,” Card said. “Without the income from from functions, I don’t have the revenue.”
Ash said he had eight weddings, 15 golf tournaments, other outings and a handful of corporate events booked, but a lot of those have been canceled due to concerns of when and if they can be held.
“What makes a golf course profitable is outings, events, weddings,” Ash said.
Card saw a lot of the same at Hilltop, with seven events being canceled between April and May.
“People are really antsy. They’re nervous,” Card said.
For Ash, the plan for his second year as owner included 25 seasonal employees, but that number has shrunk to six – with four of them on the grounds crew. Right now the hope is to open April 4, but “that could change daily.”
Card has been in constant contact with her staff, which she hired in January and February, and is stressing that the plan as of now is to open early May. The grounds crew began this week.
“But we really don’t know when we’re going to open or if we’re going to open,” Card said. “We just don’t know.”
Ash said he’s exploring a number of options to be able to open, whether it’s just for takeout. He was set to open his new tap room, featuring 24 draft lines, on St. Patrick’s Day, but had to shut it down under the state’s directives the day before. That is a lot of money out of his pocket.
Ash said he had previously sold about 100 memberships, but “usually April is when you sell a lot.”
Both have gotten calls about opening, and right now they’re moving ahead as if they are – and can.
Before the coronavirus pandemic hit New Hampshire, Marty’s Driving Range owner Nicole Ruggiero was planning for a mid-April opening and is still hopeful that will be the case.
“I’ve already had people asking me if the driving range is open,” she said. “And if I can provide that 30 minutes of sanity, I’d love to.”
But Ruggiero knows that the safety and health or her customers is the most important, so she will be monitoring how and if she can open in the coming weeks.
“Everyone’s in the same boat,” she said. “There’s a whole lot of unknowns.”
Ruggiero said she feels for all the restaurants and businesses that have taken a huge hit over the last few weeks. While she hasn’t been impacted yet, she knows that is a real possibility.
With Thursday cruise nights, Sunday BBQs and Taco Tuesday scheduled to begin in late May and her main stage concert series set to start in June, she knows if the outbreak continues and stay at home recommendations stay in place, it could take a toll on the business that is only open for about six months.
“Those are all a big deal for our business,” Ruggiero said. “We’re used to a slow start and it’s not going to hit us as hard as the restaurants who have had to shut down the majority of their business.”
For now, Ruggiero considers herself lucky that the hardest hit thus far came during her off season.
“I’m remaining optimistic,” she said.