While help from local government is on the horizon, some Greeley business owners worry customer support is waning amid COVID-19 fatigue

By Kelly Ragan

Greeley business owners are worried COVID-19 fatigue is setting in on the fight to support local businesses. 

At a Greeley Area Chamber of Commerce meeting Tuesday, business owners voiced concerns. 

“Back in March, it felt like people were really excited to support local,” said Matthew Estrin, owner of 477 Distilling (formerly known as Tower 56) and Greeley Hatchet House. “I don’t know if it’s a combination of COVID fatigue, or maybe their bank accounts are smaller than they were in March, maybe it’s because the days are shorter, but it definitely feels like this time around the same gusto and fight to keep Greeley businesses alive has faded.”

Brian Seifried, owner of Luna’s Tacos and Tequila and Wing Shack, and Brenda Lucio, owner of Coyotes Southwestern Grill and several other restaurants, echoed Estrin’s sentiments. 

Business owners agreed they noticed a shift in consumer confidence about five weeks ago – even before the state moved Weld County to level red. 

During the meeting, Seifried said he was nervous for full-service restaurants, such as Luna’s, that have a harder time pivoting to take-out only options. 

But, Seifried said, they’re doing everything they can to adapt to the new reality, including creating a new menu, partnering with other businesses and utilizing delivery services.

Seifried said more than half of his Wing Shack chain’s  delivery orders are done online. That’s just one way restaurants are pivoting to meet demand during a pandemic. 

Seifried said changes to liquor licensing to allow take-out alcohol has also been a boon for Luna’s.

Lucio said she’s had success with features such as deconstructed tacos that serve at least four people, family style, and selling margaritas in bulk. 

Help on the horizon

Weld County launched a financial assistance program called the Weld County Service Industry Relief Fund to help businesses that have been categorized as “high-risk” and mandated to close or significantly cut services – think restaurants, movie theaters, bars and gyms. 

This new initiative, which follows two other roll outs of CARES Act funding, aims to distribute about $2 million to eligible businesses is Weld. 

In the first round of grants given out by the Weld County Business Recovery Fund, 215 businesses received funds. 

This round, businesses can apply for a grant up to $10,000. 

While $2 million sounds like a lot of cash, if every business that applied received the full amount, only 200 businesses would benefit. 

And, according to Mayor John Gates, there are about 900 restaurants in Weld. 

What other cities have done

The cities of Fort Collins and Boulder have both worked to front the restaurants’ portion of the delivery fees with NoCo Nosh. NoCo Nosh is a locally owned and operated food delivery service that launched in 2019. It competes with larger, national operations such as Grubhub and DoorDash. 

The folks getting the food delivered still have to pay their portion of the delivery fees, but city officials said this method will help reduce the burden on local restaurants. 

“Our goal is to help Fort Collins restaurants maintain revenue during the toughest months of the pandemic and this program is a key element,” said Josh Birks, Economic Health and Redevelopment Director in a news release. “We can all show our support for local restaurants by keeping them busy and this partnership means the restaurants will keep more of the funds to pay their employees, cover rent, and maintain quality service by reducing delivery expenses paid by restaurants.”

As businesses develop systems to adapt, Seifried encouraged folks to use NoCo Nosh. While local businesses can and do partner with those bigger operations, NoCo Nosh works to keep commission rates lower for local businesses. 

“Third-party delivery is becoming how we eat,” Seifried said. “NoCo Nosh is like a restaurant-owned delivery service. DoorDash and Grubhub charge as much as 30% commission for small businesses.”

5-Star program 

Mesa County has pioneered a program dubbed the 5-star program that essentially acts as a partnership between the chamber of commerce and the county’s health department. If small businesses agree to follow some basic procedures around health and safety, they can have some restrictions loosened. 

Mesa, like Weld, is at level red on the state’s COVID-19 dial. Businesses with a 5-star certification could act under level orange restrictions, meaning they could allow some indoor dining, which is banned in level red. 

Several Greeley business owners voiced interest in creating something like a 5-star plan during the meeting. 

Gates said the city was looking into both partnering with NoCo Nosh and the 5-star program. 

“Resiliency is tougher when you don’t have an end date,” said Gates at the meeting. “And we don’t have an end date.” 

When it comes to reopening – or even closing in the first place – there have been mixed feelings and reactions in the business community. 

Some business owners applaud Weld County Commissioner’s stance on refusing to enforce state orders. Some business owners have chosen to align with the state.  

Lucio said that now, unity is important. She encouraged the community to mask up and local business owners to hold the line on enforcing that behavior.  

“We need to be unified as a community,” she said. “…If we could all get on the same page, I think we could get through this a whole lot faster.”

To learn more

To learn more about the Weld County Service Industry Relief Fund and how to apply, to go https://weldrecovery.com/guidelines/.