Worst economic quarter impacts Western Pa. professionals
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No one has seen numbers as bad as these.
Shoulders slumped in America on Thursday as news broke that the U.S. economy shrank at a disastrous 33% annual rate during the April-June quarter, the worst quarterly drop in history. The previous worst quarterly plunge was a 10% drop in 1958.
The reason behind it is no mystery. The covid-19 crisis has caused businesses to close and tens of millions to lose their jobs. Unemployment numbers have surged to nearly 15%.
Behind the numbers are the faces of people who have been dealing with the gnawing fear caused by being out of work or losing a business that took years to build.
‘It’s been extremely stressful’
Bre Thompson, 30, Leechburg, has been working at Massart’s, a firmly entrenched Tarentum restaurant specializing in comfort food, since she was 14. It’s owned by her stepfather, Kirk Massart, and has been owned by his family since 1923.
It has been a particularly challenging time for anyone in the restaurant business, particularly from April to June when restaurants like Massart’s were limited to takeout orders. Even now with restaurants allowed to be at 25% indoor capacity, it’s a difficult situation, said Thompson, because smaller places like Massart’s are limited to about 18 customers and have no outdoor seating.
“It’s super frustrating because nobody knows what’s actually going on because they change the rules every other day,” Thompson said. “We are barely floating by because we don’t know from one week to another, and we have to order things like stock and meats and stuff. We’re afraid of ordering too much. And if we order too little, the customers get upset because we run out of things. We don’t want to spend too much money.”
Thompson said it’s been a stressful period as Massart’s tries to navigate the pandemic, going from day to day not fully knowing if the restaurant has a long-term future.
“We hope that they actually figure out what’s going on and we look to the board of health to guide us,” Thompson said. “It’s been extremely stressful because it’s a family business and we have to pick up the slack. There’s no help. We’re hoping some of those bills go through that can provide some relief for us, but we’re not holding our breath on that either.”
For now, Massart’s is thankful to have built up a loyal customer base in its nearly century-long existence. Without it, Thompson said, the restaurant might not be able to hang on.
“We are blessed to have our loyal customers. They’re what keeps us afloat. At Massart’s, you either eat here every day or you’ve never heard of us. There’s no in between. We’re just glad that everybody’s been as loyal as they are with everything that’s going on.”
Setbacks and starting over
Kurt Rech, 31, of Lawrenceville is a personal trainer who normally works out of a gym called Fitness Techniques in Oakmont. As he built up his training business, he augmented his income with a part-time job as a waiter at Atria’s Restaurant in O’Hara.
But last March, both businesses were shut down by the pandemic. Rech had to go on unemployment.
“I think the panic of working at the gym and the restaurant and having them close at the same time and not knowing what your income is going to be is definitely tough,” Rech said.
“I had some savings, but rent never really got canceled,” he said. “You still have to eat, and the unemployment was very slow to get started. It took two months to finally see any money. The scariest part was not knowing when it would end.”
In the past week, Rech finally has been able to work at the gym. But it feels as though he is starting over when it comes to building his business back up after spending two to three years getting established.
“My gym job was growing immensely. I doubled it from the previous year, and I was looking to double it this year,” Rech said.
“My business was looking really good and then when covid hit, it just plummeted. So, now I barely have any clients that want to go back to the gym. That’s the saddest part for me. This has set me back an entire year.”
Maintaining standards during strange times
Squirrel Hill Flower Shop has earned a reputation as a prime destination for flowers and does brisk daily business. But from March 20 until just before Mother’s Day (May 10), the store was closed. There were lingering questions about if and when it would re-open.
“There was definitely a time when there was a question of ‘are we going to be able to keep doing this or not?’ Uncertainty is never easy,” said Katy Levin, 29, the shop’s general manager.
“Figuring out if we were allowed to operate and what was allowed and what was legal was very difficult, especially when you have a whole bunch of different answers coming from a whole bunch of different people.”
After being completely shut down for two weeks, the shop started doing phone orders for plants and greenery but didn’t have any fresh flowers. Levin said she was worried about whether the store could maintain its usual standard of service.
“Things are still kind of strange because the flower industry was hit pretty hard. A lot of the product production had stopped. So, a lot of the stuff that we’re used to getting is either extremely (costly) or just not available anymore. So, trying to navigate that right now is difficult.”
However, Levin acknowledges that Squirrel Hill Flowers is an established business with a strong customer base.
“Business is still flowing for us. We can’t complain about that. The hardship comes as we try to maintain our standards, and that’s so difficult today.”