Chef & local restaurant owner Ty Thames talks about impact of COVID-19

STARKVILLE, Miss, (WCBI)- Restaurants and other smalls businesses in north Mississippi are taking a hard punch in their pocket books as the coronavirus continues to ramp up in the Magnolia State.

Thursday WCBI’s Scott Martin sat down with local Chef and Owner Ty Thames, who says he doesn’t believe the state is doing enough to help curb the virus. Read the full interview below:

Ty, I know this has been a really tough time for you guys and I thank you for taking the time to visit with us about what’s going on. Ty, tell me a little bit about on how hard this is when you, as the owner, have to come in and say I’ve got to cut you, I’ve got to cut you, I’ve got to cut you.

This is an evolving situation and it’s so fluid and moving so fast. Really, nobody has the right answer on what to do. For us, it became a public safety issue. I’m in the public service, serving food, serving and party. Everybody comes here to enjoy themselves and escape the real world. Now it’s, I feel the public spaces have become unsafe. The social distancing and restaurants just don’t work together. I think it’s my responsibility as a business owner to protect my guest and my staff.

That’s not an easy decision that you have to make. How many people have you had to cut from your businesses?

50 to 60.

What has that done to you guys so far that you know of?

We’ve gone to just doing to go. We’re not taking any money right now. It’s all about trying to pay the staff, my management and keep them here throughout this situation.

I know from Restaurant Tyler’s standpoint, this is your family. They’re not just your employees they’re your family.

That’s where some of my personal responsibility comes from. I don’t want any of them to get sick, I don’t want any of my guests to get sick. It’s patio season, over the weekend we were busy, but this is not a snow day, this isn’t where schools out it’s time to party. This is a situation where you can’t see the enemy and touch, breathing, you don’t know who might have this and how fast it can spread. I have to protect myself. That is my responsibility.

Governor Tate Reeves announced he’d been in touch with the Small Business Administration, they were talking about plans on how to accommodate small businesses that are going to be impacted through this. Not just the restaurant industry but other businesses as well, I know part of the plan was to, I believe up to $2 million in loans. Is the state of Mississippi doing enough for our small businesses is my question?

No I don’t believe they are. I think that we should all go to this kind of shut down. The deal is the longer this goes on, the more damage it’s going to do. If we all band together and say okay we’re going to social distance, we’re going to shut down, maybe to do to go, delivery, buy a gift card now use it later. But the longer this goes on the harder it’s going to be for businesses to come back. If we can shut it down, stop the spread, then we can all get back to normal later.

Do you think there’s a timetable on once it’s got to a certain point, there’s not turning back?

I think everybody, small businesses, have their own timetable. Mine might be shorter or longer than others. That’s why this is so hard. The margins are so small in the restaurant business that this could, where we’re at right now is going to end some people. Maybe 50% of restaurants will come back. If this goes on another two months, three months, maybe only 75% of restaurants come back. This is a national disaster that is carrying on through the restaurant industry. Not just restaurants, salons, massage therapist, everybody feels the effect of this.

A lot of people don’t understand that. For folks that don’t work in small business what would want them to know throughout this?

The way you can help local businesses right now is stay at home. We went to online ordering, to go only. We’ve got e-gift cards. Send it to family, send it to friends. After this is all over, come enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy being social again, but don’t do it now. Let’s come together as a community, let’s get rid of this thing so we can all get back to our normal lives.