Photos by Jaime Russell, Anthem Photography
Businesses and organizations find success amidst COVID-19 pandemic SANDY'S RESTAURANT “We’ve been blessed in so many ways during all of this,” said Erika Lucas, owner of Sandy’s Restaurant. But that isn’t to say being in the restaurant business during a pandemic, a stay-at-home order, occupancy restrictions and now a mask mandate has been easy. In March 2020, when Jackson County announced the stay-at-home order, Lucas had to weigh her odds. “We weren’t known for curbside delivery, and I had to ask myself, are to-go orders going to be enough to pay the light bills?” Lucas said. “I just didn’t see how it was going to work, and I had to – with tears in my eyes – tell my employees that we were going to shut-down Sandy’s completely until the stay-at-home order was lifted.” At the time, she thought it would just be a two-week closure. But the virus had other plans and the county health department extended the stay-at-home order for nearly two months. And that’s when the blessings came in. Lake
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“Our customers are long-time
and loyal and we always want them to feel safe and normal when they come eat with us – whatever option they feel most comfortable with.
”
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City Ammunition needed catering for it’s essential workers and Sandy’s was able to provide that for three weeks. When the order lifted, and Phase 1 of the Jackson County Recovery Plan kicked in, Lucas was able bring all of her employees back and was thankful she had decided to take a risk the prior year and relocate into the bigger space.
