Virus Diaries: Small Businesses Continue to Weather Pandemic Storm

The year 2020 hasn’t gone according to plan for anyone, least of all small-business owners in Arkansas.

The Black Apple cidery in Springdale, for example, had plans to expand its offerings, but the economic stress of the COVID-19 pandemic forced those plans to be shelved. Misty Orpin, the cidery’s events planner and wife of co-founder Leo Orpin, spent her down time founding and running the data site arkansascovid.com, which became an indispensable resource for many looking for pandemic information in the state.

“Clearly, it is not the 2020 we had anticipated from a financial standpoint,” Misty Orpin said. “We are going to make it. We are going to get through it. It is a challenge.”

Black Apple’s good fortune was that retail sales of its ciders in cans had begun throughout the state just as the pandemic picked up steam. In-store traffic dropped precipitously, but sales were managed by curbside delivery and an expanded back patio that allowed social distancing protocols to be followed.

“That has been our saving grace, literally, being able to be out and be distributed in retail,” Misty Orpin said. “That has been huge for us. We launched retail around the state of Arkansas in March so that was helpful. We just lucked out that the timing worked out that way.”

Black Apple was one of the small businesses included in a feature called “Virus Diaries” on arkansasbusiness.com in the early weeks of the pandemic. Other “Virus Diaries” subjects haven’t had the same luck but are still slogging through the pandemic.

For instance, Richard Thornton, who owns the event production companies Sound Services and Light Services in Little Rock, hasn’t had any work since March 9.

“I still get out of the house and come to my shop from midmorning to midafternoon every day because I can, and I think there is a certain amount of sanity that it helps,” Thornton said. “It also keeps my wife from murdering me.”

‘A Dedicated Community’

Thornton said he has been able to generate a few bucks “here and there” from renting out equipment, but nothing that is financially significant. Thornton said he is fortunate that after 40 years in the industry he has little debt and good relationships with his lending partners.

“My revenue is down more than 90%,” Thornton said. “I chose to be in an industry where we rely on a bunch of people standing shoulder to shoulder singing and dancing. I hope it is going to come back.”

Stacey Reynolds closed her Blue Yoga Nyla studio in North Little Rock for eight weeks in the spring but said the studio is still striking a pose. Many of her clients are elderly, who are considered more vulnerable to the pandemic, but so far strict safety protocols have been effective.

“We have been really fortunate to have a dedicated community,” Reynolds said. “All of our teachers keep their masks on at all times. We have tape down on the floor and have people adhere to the spacing guidelines. So many of them say the loneliness and isolation was getting to them.

“We have people who will come to the studio but won’t go to the grocery store.”

Reynolds declined to disclose how much the pandemic has cut into her revenue but said it wasn’t more than 50%. She said her private practice has helped compensate some, but the studio offers a “pay what you can” plan since many of its clients are on fixed incomes.

“We still have a lot of people coming, but of course our numbers are still down,” Reynolds said. “It is a pretty big hit. Not only do we have COVID, but we have half of our schedule as pay-what-you-can.”

Reynolds will celebrate Blue Yoga’s 11-year anniversary in February and promises that many more anniversaries will be achieved.

“We are solid; the studio is not going anywhere, I can tell you that,” Reynolds said. “But thank God for my private practice. That has exponentially increased because of mental health care and people struggling. I have been able to stay busy and help subsidize the studio. I’m grateful for that.”

‘The New Fashion’

Black Apple relies on the in-store experience to spur more sales: For instance, a customer will try a sample menu of several ciders and then decide to buy a 32-ounce bottle or a case of cans of his or her favorite.

For a winery such as Chateau Aux Arc in Altus, the tasting room experience is crucial to sales. A customer tastes some wine and then decides to buy a few bottles.

When the pandemic hit, Chateau owner Audrey House went into full shutdown mode. She closed her tasting room, and slowdowns from her vendors affected her supplies.

House has reopened since with an outdoor, socially distanced tasting area. She has quarantined herself and her family, who live near the winery, for two weeks on four separate occasions.

“I’m more concerned about humans than money,” House said. “I’m worried about the future of the farm and the community.”

House said business has picked up in recent weeks as people realized the need to get out and live a little. But at Chateau, living a little still means living responsibly, as a recent customer found out when he asked House to take her mask off.

House told the man he had to respect the safety protocols or leave. As the number of people affected by the virus increases, respect for safety protocols is becoming an easier sell and less of an imposition, House believes.

“People got tired of hunkering down and realized they had better live and learn the new fashion,” House said. “People are learning the new fashion, and they know it is going to save their lives. More people have been affected. People want to get out and do something fun and safe. I hope I have accomplished that.”

Misty Orpin said Black Apple will keep an eye on the pandemic infection figures but she and Leo feel comfortable with the setup the cidery has. On a recent Monday evening, they served two groups that sat well apart from the other, as well as some outdoor guests who placed their orders through a walk-up window.

“We think in 2021 when things get back to normal, it is going to be a huge rebound,” Misty Orpin said. “People are going to be glad to be living their lives again and be going out in droves. We expect things to really turn around.”