A portrait of Alicia Whitman, a CU Boulder senior who caught COVID and has been suffering from the lingering effects. She is overlaid on a background that is a collage of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about the struggles of dealing with the lingering effects of catching COVID-19. This image is in black and white.
How has COVID affected you?
So COVID has affected me in many ways. First, just my social life in general, since the start I’ve been a lot more precautious and I’ve definitely not seen as many people. It’s also affected me in actually catching COVID some months ago and I’ve had lingering symptoms of brain fog for almost two months now. It’s improving, but it’s been really difficult because not only has our society changed so much and we’re not in a place that’s normal for all of us, but my health has really been impacted by the pandemic. So it’s definitely been a more stressful year for me, but I do think COVID has brought a lot of good at the same time in ways of friends checking in on each other and just people being more open and aware of their mental health.
What was it like catching COVID? How did you feel?
I think catching COVID is a very scary feeling. No one wants to catch it and a lot of people have gotten it now, but it is initially very scary and isolating because you do have to isolate for a time. It just reacts differently in everyone who gets it so it’s just very unpredictable, which can cause a lot of anxiety.
What were your symptoms originally? How have they lingered?
So initially my neck was kind of tight and it was a little hard for me to breathe when I walked, and then I had a sore throat and chills, but I never got a fever. I just had insane body aches and muscle aches. I had a runny and stuffy nose and I just felt extremely fatigued. And so over the course of ten days most of my symptoms got better except I was still feeling very fatigued and very out of it in a way that it was difficult for me to concentrate on things. I think the neurological symptoms I experienced are what they define as brain fog and they’ve gotten better, but it’s definitely still something that takes time to heal in some people. I’m definitely still in the recovery process, but I am hopeful that it will fully go away soon.
Overall, has COVID been a negative or positive experience (or a combination) for you?
I think as of right now since I am still recovering from this one symptom of brain fog from COVID, it has felt a little more negative. Also, I haven’t seen as many people and it’s been a year, so it’s felt like a really long time where our lives haven’t been completely returned to their normal state. But I do think that once this ends, it’s going to have been more of a mix of both negative and positive because there has been a lot of good that has come out of it such as that it has made people become more self-aware and reflective on what they’re doing with their life and their relationships with other people.
What is one piece of advice you want to give to people in relation to COVID?
My piece of advice would be to use technology to your benefit and to remain in contact with your friends, family and anyone who you would normally see or talk to. You’re always able to FaceTime people and although it’s not the same as being in person with them, it still feels like you have a connection with someone. You can still feel support and not as alone or isolated. I would really just tell people to make sure that they’re still in some ways socializing whether it’s through FaceTime, phone calls or text.
Alicia Whitman, Student at CU Boulder
So COVID has affected me in many ways. First, just my social life in general, since the start I’ve been a lot more precautious and I’ve definitely not seen as many people. It’s also affected me in actually catching COVID some months ago and I’ve had lingering symptoms of brain fog for almost two months now. It’s improving, but it’s been really difficult because not only has our society changed so much and we’re not in a place that’s normal for all of us, but my health has really been impacted by the pandemic. So it’s definitely been a more stressful year for me, but I do think COVID has brought a lot of good at the same time in ways of friends checking in on each other and just people being more open and aware of their mental health.
What was it like catching COVID? How did you feel?
I think catching COVID is a very scary feeling. No one wants to catch it and a lot of people have gotten it now, but it is initially very scary and isolating because you do have to isolate for a time. It just reacts differently in everyone who gets it so it’s just very unpredictable, which can cause a lot of anxiety.
What were your symptoms originally? How have they lingered?
So initially my neck was kind of tight and it was a little hard for me to breathe when I walked, and then I had a sore throat and chills, but I never got a fever. I just had insane body aches and muscle aches. I had a runny and stuffy nose and I just felt extremely fatigued. And so over the course of ten days most of my symptoms got better except I was still feeling very fatigued and very out of it in a way that it was difficult for me to concentrate on things. I think the neurological symptoms I experienced are what they define as brain fog and they’ve gotten better, but it’s definitely still something that takes time to heal in some people. I’m definitely still in the recovery process, but I am hopeful that it will fully go away soon.
Overall, has COVID been a negative or positive experience (or a combination) for you?
I think as of right now since I am still recovering from this one symptom of brain fog from COVID, it has felt a little more negative. Also, I haven’t seen as many people and it’s been a year, so it’s felt like a really long time where our lives haven’t been completely returned to their normal state. But I do think that once this ends, it’s going to have been more of a mix of both negative and positive because there has been a lot of good that has come out of it such as that it has made people become more self-aware and reflective on what they’re doing with their life and their relationships with other people.
What is one piece of advice you want to give to people in relation to COVID?
My piece of advice would be to use technology to your benefit and to remain in contact with your friends, family and anyone who you would normally see or talk to. You’re always able to FaceTime people and although it’s not the same as being in person with them, it still feels like you have a connection with someone. You can still feel support and not as alone or isolated. I would really just tell people to make sure that they’re still in some ways socializing whether it’s through FaceTime, phone calls or text.
Alicia Whitman, Student at CU Boulder
A portrait of Arsen Kashkashian, the general manager of Boulder Book Store, who had to completely change and rework his entire business due to the effects of the pandemic. He is overlaid on a background that is a collage of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about how small businesses and bookstores have been devastated by the pandemic. This image is in black and white.
How did COVID affect your business?
The most obvious way it affected us was sometime around March 20th or so of last year, we closed before we were really asked to, but people started not coming in. We were totally closed between about March 20th and May 31st. We’re usually closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, and in the almost thirty years I’ve been here, the only other day I can remember us being closed was during the Boulder flood, that’s it, we’re always open, 2 feet of snow, we’re open. So this was kind of a shock to the system, but one thing we noticed immediately, the very next day, our web orders which were usually like five a day, suddenly became forty to fifty a day, and that seemed like a crazy amount. We had about a week there where we were fulfilling web orders, we were doing delivery, but then we went into a hard lockdown where we were totally closed. Starting May 31st the web orders stayed increased, we were getting forty, fifty, sixty orders and during the holidays one hundred fifty to two hundred web orders a day where previously three, four, five was more the average.
And as you can see, we have some changes right up at the front here such as that we have someone at the door. This is Dylan our floor manager. Dylan and I did a lot of talking with the staff on what would make them comfortable to open because by the state, we were allowed to open maybe three weeks before we did, but the staff was not comfortable at that point in time. So one of the changes as a business that hopefully will carry on after this is all over is that I think our level of staff communication is way up compared to what it had been. We were asking the staff what would make you comfortable to open and so we came up with the person at the door. Obviously, some of this was state mandated, but some was because of what the employees wanted.
But the other thing is that we had to reconfigure the store. We realized that we had to make the store one way because we didn’t want people leaving, coming in, and waiting for the register in one place. So we moved the register to the children’s room to create a one way flow, so that was a big difference. I had to reinvent the business because even after we reopened, depending on the day, twenty five to fifty percent of the business could be online, so in some ways we’re half an online warehouse and half of an in person business. And so that was a big change, so we’ve had to react, we had to get much better with all of these systems. I think that now we can process fifty web orders in maybe a third or quarter of the time it took us back in May and June so hopefully that’s a positive stick.
So we started doing curbside pickup throughout the store and when you do place that kind of order, you don’t have to come into the store, which never really occurred to us because people would just come in and get their book. But this wasn’t going to work in June, July or even now for some people who wouldn’t want to come into the store. When people would order a book, we would hold the book for two weeks and if they didn’t want them either we would put them in inventory or send them back, but now they’ve already paid for the books, so we have to hold the books indefinitely.
And then as the months went on, we started realizing the mix of what we sell started changing because so many of the orders were coming in either online or people calling, those were usually books they heard about. And what do you hear about, you hear about new books that are in the news or in the media, so new books were selling pretty similar to previous years, but everything you come into the store to browse such as our gift items, sale books, used books, books that you just stumble upon, the sales of those were cut in half. So that changed the way we have had to think about buying. The new books are selling pretty close to normal and that took some adjustment because we had freaked out and cutback our orders and then we had to reorder everything we canceled. But at the same time, things like the gifts and the used books, we’ve had to slowdown that buying quite a bit because we’re just not seeing the demand because we can’t get enough people in the store for various reasons. During the holidays, it was because we had a capacity limit and when it wasn’t the holidays, there were just less people downtown and so we had to change our hours. We used to be open until 10:00 PM, but we were doing events in the evenings which we don’t do anymore, and a lot of people would walk the mall either waiting for their tables or after their meal, but who’s eating in a restaurant at this point? During the summer there was some outdoor dining, but nothing like before so trying to be open 7AM to 10PM was untenable for us. So now we have an eight hour day instead of a twelve hour day and so each change has been gradual. Some of the changes we were able to think out in advance, but a lot of them have been kind of forced upon us. I think the key though is that we have been able to be nimble. We have been able to see where the changes need to happen, and we have been able to cut our expenses where we had to in order to make ends meet. And hopefully as we come out of this, some of the positive things like being so much better at web orders will carry over and be an advantage for us as we move forward. But that’s basically what it has been like for us and I think that some of the changes we made are probably here to stay. You don’t go through something like this and just go back to the way it was.
Did you ever have to think about closing permanently?
We were never in danger of having to close permanently. We were able to work with our landlord so that we got some rent deferred so we didn’t have that coming up right away. We were able to get a PPP loan, which really got us through April and May when we were closed. That money basically paid for April, May and June. And then once we got to July 1st, we were able to tailor our expenses to what money we had coming in. We were able to cut our expenses enough that we at least knew we could tread water until this was over. Without a PPP loan it would have been more uncertain, but we got that pretty early on.
How many people were you seeing in the store versus now?
It’s hard to put a number on it, but I think we’re seeing forty to fifty percent of the people in person that we would normally see. It varies from day to day. Some days we would see as many as five hundred people, but nowadays we might top out at two hundred fifty during the day, often much lower than that. Sometimes we’ll get one hundred, one hundred twenty people in here all day and those sound like big numbers, but it’s a big store. We’re open eight hours and there’s seven different rooms so you can have thirty five people in the store and have it feel pretty quiet. I’m hoping that we’ll get back to one hundred percent business, but it’s going to take a while.
Overall, would you say COVID has had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on your business?
I mean overall this was a negative, we’re in a pandemic. I think the hard thing is while we sell books online, it’s kind of the least rewarding sale we do. We’re booksellers, we like to talk to people and doing an online order is just warehouse fulfillment. There’s none of that personal exchange. All of that connection, which really makes an independent store, doesn’t really happen online in the same way. However, we’re grateful for our customers who have stayed with us for a year online. And I think there will be some silver linings, but they’re tiny, and for the number of negatives there are, the small positives will not outweigh the negatives.
What’s one piece of advice you want to give to people about small businesses in relation to COVID?
If there’s a business in your community that’s important to you whether it’s a restaurant, yoga studio, bookstore or another store, find a way to support them because the world you want for tomorrow isn’t going to be there if you don’t help them now. Think about what you want things to be like in six or nine months from now when this is all over. If you want that yoga studio or that restaurant to be there, you probably need to be frequenting them now somehow if you can.
Arsen Kashkashian, General Manager, Boulder Book Store
https://www.boulderbookstore.net/
(303) 447-2074
The most obvious way it affected us was sometime around March 20th or so of last year, we closed before we were really asked to, but people started not coming in. We were totally closed between about March 20th and May 31st. We’re usually closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, and in the almost thirty years I’ve been here, the only other day I can remember us being closed was during the Boulder flood, that’s it, we’re always open, 2 feet of snow, we’re open. So this was kind of a shock to the system, but one thing we noticed immediately, the very next day, our web orders which were usually like five a day, suddenly became forty to fifty a day, and that seemed like a crazy amount. We had about a week there where we were fulfilling web orders, we were doing delivery, but then we went into a hard lockdown where we were totally closed. Starting May 31st the web orders stayed increased, we were getting forty, fifty, sixty orders and during the holidays one hundred fifty to two hundred web orders a day where previously three, four, five was more the average.
And as you can see, we have some changes right up at the front here such as that we have someone at the door. This is Dylan our floor manager. Dylan and I did a lot of talking with the staff on what would make them comfortable to open because by the state, we were allowed to open maybe three weeks before we did, but the staff was not comfortable at that point in time. So one of the changes as a business that hopefully will carry on after this is all over is that I think our level of staff communication is way up compared to what it had been. We were asking the staff what would make you comfortable to open and so we came up with the person at the door. Obviously, some of this was state mandated, but some was because of what the employees wanted.
But the other thing is that we had to reconfigure the store. We realized that we had to make the store one way because we didn’t want people leaving, coming in, and waiting for the register in one place. So we moved the register to the children’s room to create a one way flow, so that was a big difference. I had to reinvent the business because even after we reopened, depending on the day, twenty five to fifty percent of the business could be online, so in some ways we’re half an online warehouse and half of an in person business. And so that was a big change, so we’ve had to react, we had to get much better with all of these systems. I think that now we can process fifty web orders in maybe a third or quarter of the time it took us back in May and June so hopefully that’s a positive stick.
So we started doing curbside pickup throughout the store and when you do place that kind of order, you don’t have to come into the store, which never really occurred to us because people would just come in and get their book. But this wasn’t going to work in June, July or even now for some people who wouldn’t want to come into the store. When people would order a book, we would hold the book for two weeks and if they didn’t want them either we would put them in inventory or send them back, but now they’ve already paid for the books, so we have to hold the books indefinitely.
And then as the months went on, we started realizing the mix of what we sell started changing because so many of the orders were coming in either online or people calling, those were usually books they heard about. And what do you hear about, you hear about new books that are in the news or in the media, so new books were selling pretty similar to previous years, but everything you come into the store to browse such as our gift items, sale books, used books, books that you just stumble upon, the sales of those were cut in half. So that changed the way we have had to think about buying. The new books are selling pretty close to normal and that took some adjustment because we had freaked out and cutback our orders and then we had to reorder everything we canceled. But at the same time, things like the gifts and the used books, we’ve had to slowdown that buying quite a bit because we’re just not seeing the demand because we can’t get enough people in the store for various reasons. During the holidays, it was because we had a capacity limit and when it wasn’t the holidays, there were just less people downtown and so we had to change our hours. We used to be open until 10:00 PM, but we were doing events in the evenings which we don’t do anymore, and a lot of people would walk the mall either waiting for their tables or after their meal, but who’s eating in a restaurant at this point? During the summer there was some outdoor dining, but nothing like before so trying to be open 7AM to 10PM was untenable for us. So now we have an eight hour day instead of a twelve hour day and so each change has been gradual. Some of the changes we were able to think out in advance, but a lot of them have been kind of forced upon us. I think the key though is that we have been able to be nimble. We have been able to see where the changes need to happen, and we have been able to cut our expenses where we had to in order to make ends meet. And hopefully as we come out of this, some of the positive things like being so much better at web orders will carry over and be an advantage for us as we move forward. But that’s basically what it has been like for us and I think that some of the changes we made are probably here to stay. You don’t go through something like this and just go back to the way it was.
Did you ever have to think about closing permanently?
We were never in danger of having to close permanently. We were able to work with our landlord so that we got some rent deferred so we didn’t have that coming up right away. We were able to get a PPP loan, which really got us through April and May when we were closed. That money basically paid for April, May and June. And then once we got to July 1st, we were able to tailor our expenses to what money we had coming in. We were able to cut our expenses enough that we at least knew we could tread water until this was over. Without a PPP loan it would have been more uncertain, but we got that pretty early on.
How many people were you seeing in the store versus now?
It’s hard to put a number on it, but I think we’re seeing forty to fifty percent of the people in person that we would normally see. It varies from day to day. Some days we would see as many as five hundred people, but nowadays we might top out at two hundred fifty during the day, often much lower than that. Sometimes we’ll get one hundred, one hundred twenty people in here all day and those sound like big numbers, but it’s a big store. We’re open eight hours and there’s seven different rooms so you can have thirty five people in the store and have it feel pretty quiet. I’m hoping that we’ll get back to one hundred percent business, but it’s going to take a while.
Overall, would you say COVID has had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on your business?
I mean overall this was a negative, we’re in a pandemic. I think the hard thing is while we sell books online, it’s kind of the least rewarding sale we do. We’re booksellers, we like to talk to people and doing an online order is just warehouse fulfillment. There’s none of that personal exchange. All of that connection, which really makes an independent store, doesn’t really happen online in the same way. However, we’re grateful for our customers who have stayed with us for a year online. And I think there will be some silver linings, but they’re tiny, and for the number of negatives there are, the small positives will not outweigh the negatives.
What’s one piece of advice you want to give to people about small businesses in relation to COVID?
If there’s a business in your community that’s important to you whether it’s a restaurant, yoga studio, bookstore or another store, find a way to support them because the world you want for tomorrow isn’t going to be there if you don’t help them now. Think about what you want things to be like in six or nine months from now when this is all over. If you want that yoga studio or that restaurant to be there, you probably need to be frequenting them now somehow if you can.
Arsen Kashkashian, General Manager, Boulder Book Store
https://www.boulderbookstore.net/
(303) 447-2074
A portrait of Ashley, a CU Boulder senior who lost her grandfather due to COVID-19. She is overlaid on a background that is a collage of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about how the elderly have been affected by the pandemic. This image is in black and white.
Tell me about your COVID story. What was COVID like for you?
So Corona started. I’m in Colorado whereas the rest of my family lives in New York and New Jersey. And the beginning was kind of just a joke, people we’re making memes of it, it was funny, until about the end of March. I got a phone call from my mom saying that my grandpa back in New York got it somehow. So we thought it’s fine, he’s beaten things before, he’s a strong man, he can beat this. Still at this time no one was taking it as seriously. I don’t think I wore a mask into a store yet. So I thought whatever it will just go away, and then I remember getting a call from my dad about a week later saying he’s on an oxygen tank. I remember thinking this is actually kind of serious so I said to my dad I’m coming home, I have to, and that’s when everyone was saying do not get on a plane and I couldn’t do a twenty seven hour car ride by myself, so I was stuck out here, and he wasn’t doing the greatest. But we still had hope. I remember talking to my parents, telling them he’ll be fine, and then April 12th, Easter Sunday, I got a call from my dad that my grandpa had passed away from Coronavirus. And they say it’s not Corona that killed him, it’s what the Corona did to his pre-existing diabetes, but it wasn’t his time. The diabetes wouldn’t have done that in April of 2020. And that really sucked because like I said I was stranded in Colorado while the rest of my family was on the East Coast, so there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help my mom, which also sucked because he was her last parent, so she was going through a terrible time. And I think the thing that sucks the most is that we still have not had a funeral because of gathering rules. So I know they did a drive by at the cemetery, which I couldn’t go to because I was stranded, but that’s all he’s gotten so far, no memorial or anything because there are still people in our family that we’re not allowed to see. So I’m still waiting for that closure. Eventually I visited in August and we did another drive by just for me, but there has been no closure and it’s been because of Coronavirus. And people talk about college students as if our lives are so easy, we haven’t been affected by things, but you have to speak for yourself because you don’t know everyone’s story. Coronavirus really did affect me, a college student, a lot, a lot, a lot. And it still is because even though it’s gotten better, it still took something big from me.
What’s a piece of advice you want to give to other people or college students in particular about Coronavirus?
Take it seriously. It’s February of 2021 and you still can’t go into a store without your mask for a reason. And just because it’s not prevalent in your life right now doesn’t mean it’s not prevalent in someone’s family’s. It’s not a joke because it has killed and I know most people don’t know someone who has died from it, but when you do, it’s shit.
Ashley, Student at CU Boulder
So Corona started. I’m in Colorado whereas the rest of my family lives in New York and New Jersey. And the beginning was kind of just a joke, people we’re making memes of it, it was funny, until about the end of March. I got a phone call from my mom saying that my grandpa back in New York got it somehow. So we thought it’s fine, he’s beaten things before, he’s a strong man, he can beat this. Still at this time no one was taking it as seriously. I don’t think I wore a mask into a store yet. So I thought whatever it will just go away, and then I remember getting a call from my dad about a week later saying he’s on an oxygen tank. I remember thinking this is actually kind of serious so I said to my dad I’m coming home, I have to, and that’s when everyone was saying do not get on a plane and I couldn’t do a twenty seven hour car ride by myself, so I was stuck out here, and he wasn’t doing the greatest. But we still had hope. I remember talking to my parents, telling them he’ll be fine, and then April 12th, Easter Sunday, I got a call from my dad that my grandpa had passed away from Coronavirus. And they say it’s not Corona that killed him, it’s what the Corona did to his pre-existing diabetes, but it wasn’t his time. The diabetes wouldn’t have done that in April of 2020. And that really sucked because like I said I was stranded in Colorado while the rest of my family was on the East Coast, so there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help my mom, which also sucked because he was her last parent, so she was going through a terrible time. And I think the thing that sucks the most is that we still have not had a funeral because of gathering rules. So I know they did a drive by at the cemetery, which I couldn’t go to because I was stranded, but that’s all he’s gotten so far, no memorial or anything because there are still people in our family that we’re not allowed to see. So I’m still waiting for that closure. Eventually I visited in August and we did another drive by just for me, but there has been no closure and it’s been because of Coronavirus. And people talk about college students as if our lives are so easy, we haven’t been affected by things, but you have to speak for yourself because you don’t know everyone’s story. Coronavirus really did affect me, a college student, a lot, a lot, a lot. And it still is because even though it’s gotten better, it still took something big from me.
What’s a piece of advice you want to give to other people or college students in particular about Coronavirus?
Take it seriously. It’s February of 2021 and you still can’t go into a store without your mask for a reason. And just because it’s not prevalent in your life right now doesn’t mean it’s not prevalent in someone’s family’s. It’s not a joke because it has killed and I know most people don’t know someone who has died from it, but when you do, it’s shit.
Ashley, Student at CU Boulder
A portrait of Erica Dahl, who as the owner of a small business, Savvy on Pearl, has had to implement many changes into her store and has suffered financially due to the pandemic. She is overlaid on a background that is a collage made up of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about how COVID has drastically affected small businesses. This image is in black and white.
How has COVID affected your business? (Customers? Sales?)
Like most brick and mortar stores COVID has greatly affected my sales, my buying habits, my hours, my interactions with customers and much much more. In a way it has allowed us to connect to more locals, but it has also alienated us from any locals who are not comfortable shopping during the pandemic.
How has the way in which COVID affected your business also affected your personal life?
My business has definitely suffered financially, but we are very good at saving and we have cut costs where we can in order to make it easier for us to operate under these leaner times. Because we have reduced our hours, I have been working most of the shifts so that has changed my personal life in that I am spending a lot more time at the store working by myself.
Overall, do you think COVID had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on your business?
The only positive impact would be that locals were more dedicated to keeping their spending local and that was very nice to see. Otherwise, just about everything else has been a negative impact.
What is one piece of information/advice you want to give to the public about small businesses?
The only way Boulder remains a prosperous/awesome/unique place to visit and share with our friends and family is if we continue to shop locally.
Erica Dahl, Owner & Buyer, Savvy on Pearl
http://www.savvyonpearl.com/
Like most brick and mortar stores COVID has greatly affected my sales, my buying habits, my hours, my interactions with customers and much much more. In a way it has allowed us to connect to more locals, but it has also alienated us from any locals who are not comfortable shopping during the pandemic.
How has the way in which COVID affected your business also affected your personal life?
My business has definitely suffered financially, but we are very good at saving and we have cut costs where we can in order to make it easier for us to operate under these leaner times. Because we have reduced our hours, I have been working most of the shifts so that has changed my personal life in that I am spending a lot more time at the store working by myself.
Overall, do you think COVID had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on your business?
The only positive impact would be that locals were more dedicated to keeping their spending local and that was very nice to see. Otherwise, just about everything else has been a negative impact.
What is one piece of information/advice you want to give to the public about small businesses?
The only way Boulder remains a prosperous/awesome/unique place to visit and share with our friends and family is if we continue to shop locally.
Erica Dahl, Owner & Buyer, Savvy on Pearl
http://www.savvyonpearl.com/
A portrait of Lily Tinniswood, server and hostess at Hapa Sushi Grill and Sake Bar, who has seen a drastic decrease in her salary as well as the salaries of all of her coworkers due to the pandemic. She is overlaid on a background that is a collage made up of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about the crippling impact that the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry. This image is in black and white.
How has COVID affected the restaurant? (Customers? Safety Protocols? really anything you're willing to share)
COVID decreased the number of customers we could have at one time. We are also reservation based only now, so we do not take walk-ins. This drastically decreases the total amount of tables each server gets per shift. We also have to take specific safety protocols regarding touching things on the table.
How has the way in which COVID affected the restaurant/your job, also affected your personal life?
COVID has drastically decreased everyone’s pay. Servers used to make $500 on a weekend night and now barely make $200. Since servers make less money, the tip-out for the other front of house staff has also drastically decreased.
Overall, do you think COVID had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on the restaurant/restaurant industry?
I think it has had a negative effect on the industry. It has really hurt a lot of people I know.
What is one piece of information/advice you want to give to the public either just in general about COVID or COVID in relation to the restaurant industry?
I know we are all hurting due to COVID, but make sure if you are going out to eat to be respectful of your servers and staff especially knowing how tough it has been. Also, remember to tip at least 20%, or higher if you can, because most restaurants make the servers tip-out the rest of the support staff 13% of their sales. This means that if your bill is $100, no matter what you tip, your server has to pay $13 to the restaurant to pay buyers, hostesses, expos, chefs, etc...
Anything else you wish to share about the restaurant industry and COVID?
I hope to get back to normal soon! Everyone just be respectful and kind to each other!
Lily Tinniswood, Server, Hostess and Expeditor, Hapa Sushi Grill and Sake Bar
https://hapasushi.com/
COVID decreased the number of customers we could have at one time. We are also reservation based only now, so we do not take walk-ins. This drastically decreases the total amount of tables each server gets per shift. We also have to take specific safety protocols regarding touching things on the table.
How has the way in which COVID affected the restaurant/your job, also affected your personal life?
COVID has drastically decreased everyone’s pay. Servers used to make $500 on a weekend night and now barely make $200. Since servers make less money, the tip-out for the other front of house staff has also drastically decreased.
Overall, do you think COVID had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on the restaurant/restaurant industry?
I think it has had a negative effect on the industry. It has really hurt a lot of people I know.
What is one piece of information/advice you want to give to the public either just in general about COVID or COVID in relation to the restaurant industry?
I know we are all hurting due to COVID, but make sure if you are going out to eat to be respectful of your servers and staff especially knowing how tough it has been. Also, remember to tip at least 20%, or higher if you can, because most restaurants make the servers tip-out the rest of the support staff 13% of their sales. This means that if your bill is $100, no matter what you tip, your server has to pay $13 to the restaurant to pay buyers, hostesses, expos, chefs, etc...
Anything else you wish to share about the restaurant industry and COVID?
I hope to get back to normal soon! Everyone just be respectful and kind to each other!
Lily Tinniswood, Server, Hostess and Expeditor, Hapa Sushi Grill and Sake Bar
https://hapasushi.com/
A portrait of Stacey Swetil-Rust, a volunteer and dog foster for From Forgotten to Forever Rescue, who has seen the changes first hand in adoption applications, foster applications, owner surrenders, spay and neuters, etc. caused by the pandemic. She is overlaid on a background that is a collage made up of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about how the pandemic has affected adoption rates and fostering. This image is in black and white.
Throughout the pandemic, have you seen an increase in people willing to foster or in dog adoptions?
So what happened was at the very beginning we had a lot more people sign up to foster and definitely adoptions, I would say, were at an all-time high as were fosters. But also what happened with a lot of those people is that they, what we call, foster failed or foster forevered where they kept the dog they were fostering. So as the pandemic has gone on, I don’t know that a lot of those fosters have continued to foster and it seems at this point that adoptions are still going very well for desirable dogs, which are small to midsize young dogs. These types of dogs get adopted fairly easier than tougher breeds that are restricted like Pitbulls, Rottweilers, bigger dogs or dogs with behavior issues. These dogs are not getting adopted as quickly as they were before whereas at the beginning of the pandemic, people had more time to work with dogs like these and I think were less put off by a dog that they thought needed more effort.
Have fosters begun to decrease as the pandemic has gone on?
Yes, I would say that the fosters have gone back to a more normal level now that people are going back to work and their routines are changing.
In terms of animal adoptions and fostering, would you say that COVID has been a negative or positive experience (or a combination)?
I would say that for dog rescue this has been a positive experience because I think that people wanted to do something good with their time so they fostered, and even if they only fostered one dog and they adopted a rescue, those might have been people that would have bought a dog or can spread the word to other people about rescue dogs. There are so many great dogs that need loving homes.
What’s one piece of advice you want to give to people about fostering or adopting a dog?
Once you foster a couple of times, you get to understand how big of a need there is and how important it is. Also, it’s good to make sure that you’re fostering a dog that fits your lifestyle, so that if you want to adopt, the dog is the right fit. And take your time when it comes to deciding to adopt a dog.
Have you seen an increase in any of the negative aspects of dog rescue since the beginning of the pandemic?
Well, what we’re seeing now is some owner surrenders because some people are moving from a house to an apartment due to being out of work for a while, which some dogs aren’t suited for because they’re too high energy or too noisy when their owner is gone, various reasons. So we definitely are seeing more owner surrenders. It’s really important that you really are ready to be a responsible pet owner and that if you have moved to an apartment and you were counting on your dog playing in the yard for exercise, that is generally not a very realistic thing. Dogs need to be walked and made to exercise.
How has fostering been for you throughout the pandemic?
The one difference that we did see is that vets were shut down at the beginning of the pandemic for spays and neuters, so this really did back up that process. So what was happening was we would get a foster and they wouldn’t be able to be spayed or neutered for a couple of months, which normally for me, a foster is at my house for two to three weeks. So what we did is most rescues changed to a foster to adopt scenario. So say if you met this dog and he wasn’t neutered yet, you could take him on as a foster and then because you are fostering him, you have the first right of refusal to adopt him. It is the law that they need to be spayed or neutered before they can legally be adopted, which put an extra step in there. I had one dog that I only had for a few days and then he went to a foster to adopt where they couldn’t adopt him for a month because that was when his neuter was scheduled.
Is there anything else you want to add?
Well, pandemic aside, just make sure that your life can take a twist and be sure you’re prepared that you have someone who can take care of your pets. We do see a lot of dogs whose owners pass away and some are from COVID that don’t have a plan for where their dog should go. So you should write that out and include it with your will so that if anything does happen to you, you have a plan for your pet.
Stacey Swetil-Rust, Volunteer and Foster, From Forgotten to Forever Rescue
https://www.fromforgottentoforever.com/
So what happened was at the very beginning we had a lot more people sign up to foster and definitely adoptions, I would say, were at an all-time high as were fosters. But also what happened with a lot of those people is that they, what we call, foster failed or foster forevered where they kept the dog they were fostering. So as the pandemic has gone on, I don’t know that a lot of those fosters have continued to foster and it seems at this point that adoptions are still going very well for desirable dogs, which are small to midsize young dogs. These types of dogs get adopted fairly easier than tougher breeds that are restricted like Pitbulls, Rottweilers, bigger dogs or dogs with behavior issues. These dogs are not getting adopted as quickly as they were before whereas at the beginning of the pandemic, people had more time to work with dogs like these and I think were less put off by a dog that they thought needed more effort.
Have fosters begun to decrease as the pandemic has gone on?
Yes, I would say that the fosters have gone back to a more normal level now that people are going back to work and their routines are changing.
In terms of animal adoptions and fostering, would you say that COVID has been a negative or positive experience (or a combination)?
I would say that for dog rescue this has been a positive experience because I think that people wanted to do something good with their time so they fostered, and even if they only fostered one dog and they adopted a rescue, those might have been people that would have bought a dog or can spread the word to other people about rescue dogs. There are so many great dogs that need loving homes.
What’s one piece of advice you want to give to people about fostering or adopting a dog?
Once you foster a couple of times, you get to understand how big of a need there is and how important it is. Also, it’s good to make sure that you’re fostering a dog that fits your lifestyle, so that if you want to adopt, the dog is the right fit. And take your time when it comes to deciding to adopt a dog.
Have you seen an increase in any of the negative aspects of dog rescue since the beginning of the pandemic?
Well, what we’re seeing now is some owner surrenders because some people are moving from a house to an apartment due to being out of work for a while, which some dogs aren’t suited for because they’re too high energy or too noisy when their owner is gone, various reasons. So we definitely are seeing more owner surrenders. It’s really important that you really are ready to be a responsible pet owner and that if you have moved to an apartment and you were counting on your dog playing in the yard for exercise, that is generally not a very realistic thing. Dogs need to be walked and made to exercise.
How has fostering been for you throughout the pandemic?
The one difference that we did see is that vets were shut down at the beginning of the pandemic for spays and neuters, so this really did back up that process. So what was happening was we would get a foster and they wouldn’t be able to be spayed or neutered for a couple of months, which normally for me, a foster is at my house for two to three weeks. So what we did is most rescues changed to a foster to adopt scenario. So say if you met this dog and he wasn’t neutered yet, you could take him on as a foster and then because you are fostering him, you have the first right of refusal to adopt him. It is the law that they need to be spayed or neutered before they can legally be adopted, which put an extra step in there. I had one dog that I only had for a few days and then he went to a foster to adopt where they couldn’t adopt him for a month because that was when his neuter was scheduled.
Is there anything else you want to add?
Well, pandemic aside, just make sure that your life can take a twist and be sure you’re prepared that you have someone who can take care of your pets. We do see a lot of dogs whose owners pass away and some are from COVID that don’t have a plan for where their dog should go. So you should write that out and include it with your will so that if anything does happen to you, you have a plan for your pet.
Stacey Swetil-Rust, Volunteer and Foster, From Forgotten to Forever Rescue
https://www.fromforgottentoforever.com/
A portrait of Valerie Knorr, director of sales and marketing at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa, who has had a change in her job and been greatly affected by the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on the hotel industry. She is overlaid on a background that is a collage made up of multiple newspaper cutouts and headlines about how the hotel industry has taken a hard hit due to the pandemic. This image is in black and white.
How has COVID affected the hotel? (Customers? Rates? Safety Protocols? really anything you're willing to share)
Due to COVID, we have instituted new cleaning and sanitation protocols. In addition, our business levels in 2020 were significantly down, thereby causing us to furlough many of our staff members. In 2021, our group business is still not recovered, and we hope that by the fall of this year we might get back to previous business levels of 2019. We have not discounted our room rates, due to the full-service nature of our hotel. We still offer spa services, Jill’s Restaurant and T-Zero Hotel Bar, as well as room service. Our pool and hot-tub are open.
How has the way in which COVID affected the hotel/your job, also affected your personal life?
The changes in my job (due to COVID) are that instead of securing group event business, I have switched to much more of a marketing role, ensuring that our social media efforts and print ads are targeted to those individuals who are still traveling, targeting the front range area and those who travel by car and are interested in staycations. Personally, I do not know anyone who has come down with COVID, and I have not stopped traveling, with trips all over Colorado, California, Texas and Mississippi. My daughter started college last fall in Jackson, Mississippi, so my husband and I drove her down to her school for her first year as a freshman at Belhaven University.
Overall, do you think COVID had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on your hotel/the hotel industry?
I can say that COVID has had a devastating negative effect on our hotel, with business levels very far down, employees furloughed, and our staff still following the state requirements of social distancing and mask wearing. Our only consolation is that our hotel is used for celebrations, such as Anniversaries, Birthday Party celebrations, and Mini honeymoons.
Please note that there are some hotels who are doing a better business as they are resort locations, away from city centers. Our hotel, located in the heart of Boulder is still considered an urban hotel, with fabulous views of the Flatirons and quite a bit of outside Terrace space.
What is one piece of information/advice you want to give to the public either just in general about COVID or COVID in relation to the hotel industry?
The message I would have for the public would be to encourage them to continue to support local businesses while maintaining their safety.
Valerie Knorr, Director of Sales & Marketing, St Julien Hotel & Spa
https://stjulien.com/
Due to COVID, we have instituted new cleaning and sanitation protocols. In addition, our business levels in 2020 were significantly down, thereby causing us to furlough many of our staff members. In 2021, our group business is still not recovered, and we hope that by the fall of this year we might get back to previous business levels of 2019. We have not discounted our room rates, due to the full-service nature of our hotel. We still offer spa services, Jill’s Restaurant and T-Zero Hotel Bar, as well as room service. Our pool and hot-tub are open.
How has the way in which COVID affected the hotel/your job, also affected your personal life?
The changes in my job (due to COVID) are that instead of securing group event business, I have switched to much more of a marketing role, ensuring that our social media efforts and print ads are targeted to those individuals who are still traveling, targeting the front range area and those who travel by car and are interested in staycations. Personally, I do not know anyone who has come down with COVID, and I have not stopped traveling, with trips all over Colorado, California, Texas and Mississippi. My daughter started college last fall in Jackson, Mississippi, so my husband and I drove her down to her school for her first year as a freshman at Belhaven University.
Overall, do you think COVID had a negative or positive impact (or a combination) on your hotel/the hotel industry?
I can say that COVID has had a devastating negative effect on our hotel, with business levels very far down, employees furloughed, and our staff still following the state requirements of social distancing and mask wearing. Our only consolation is that our hotel is used for celebrations, such as Anniversaries, Birthday Party celebrations, and Mini honeymoons.
Please note that there are some hotels who are doing a better business as they are resort locations, away from city centers. Our hotel, located in the heart of Boulder is still considered an urban hotel, with fabulous views of the Flatirons and quite a bit of outside Terrace space.
What is one piece of information/advice you want to give to the public either just in general about COVID or COVID in relation to the hotel industry?
The message I would have for the public would be to encourage them to continue to support local businesses while maintaining their safety.
Valerie Knorr, Director of Sales & Marketing, St Julien Hotel & Spa
https://stjulien.com/
To View my Artist Talk:
https://www.colorado.edu/project/cmpshowcase/covid-unprecedented-times-nikki-wellner
https://www.colorado.edu/project/cmpshowcase/covid-unprecedented-times-nikki-wellner