New Beaufort businesses opened just before a pandemic. Here’s how they’re surviving.
Kayla and Matt DeVito’s regular customers knew a store was coming for years.
The couple sold jewelry from a bus and an online store, all while saving money to open their own brick and mortar store.
They thought they had planned for everything.
But then the day of the soft opening for their downtown Beaufort shop that sells a bit of everything fell on the same day President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus has hit many small businesses hard but was an especially cruel blow to operations just getting off the ground.
“To see it come to a halt after five days, it was devastating in a way I couldn’t understand,” Kayla DeVito said. “You can save up for a possible recession. I planned for this; I planned for that. There’s no way I could have predicted a worldwide pandemic. I’m a planning type of person — to have something happen beyond my control, it took a toll on my mental health.”
The DeVitos aren’t alone.
On Paris Avenue, Maynard’s ice cream shop and cafe hoped to open in March.
Tidal Creek Haven, a home and garden store in the old Fordham Market building on Bay Street was ready to open about the time COVID-19 shut things down.
New businesses are in various stages of moving into renovated space in Beaufort Town Center where KMart once stood.
On the busy commercial thoroughfare of Robert Smalls Parkway, Kendell Wilson and her husband, Anthony, had poured months into turning an old warehouse into a space for family entertainment they thought was sorely needed in Beaufort. They laid out the space for Glowcountry Mini Golf, an indoor putt-putt facility with neon colors that shimmer under black light. It opened in December.
For a while, business was steady, and the Wilsons awaited an expected boost during spring break that never came.
“We were really hoping that (S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster) was going to allow us to open on May 1,” Kendell Wilson said. “It’s disappointing. I completely understand all of it and why things were closed, but I feel like it’s killing the little guys..”
McMaster continued relaxing restrictions Friday. Restaurants can open to outdoor dining starting Monday, and the governor’s order that people only leave home for work or essential needs is now optional.
Wilson said she feels blessed to have an understanding landlord, one who has allowed her to put off rent
She said the business was ineligible for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans because it didn’t have employees. She’s awaiting other relief through the Small Business Administration and for unemployment benefits.
She is prepared to resume business safely when McMaster relaxes rules for businesses.
The golf clubs and balls have always been sanitized, but the Wilsons have added plexiglass protection at the register and traded in their touchpad payment system for one the customer doesn’t touch. Clubs will be dipped in a bath and sanitized.
At her shop on Scott Street, Kayla DeVito has packed online orders and offered curbside pickup. More recently, when the weather is nice, she opens the door to welcome any customers who may want to walk in.
“Socially distant but in this together,” a sign in the window reads.
After the initial shock, she said she has been heartened by the response from the online community.
They had been renovating since November, paying rent for months before the first sales came in the door.
DeVito estimates the couple invested $40,000 to start the store, selling vehicles and their beloved 26-foot sailboat — a navy blue 1977 Pearson.
She said she began sharing honestly about how she felt about the business Facebook page. And that has helped.
“I’m not even concerned about it anymore,” she said. “We’ve been shown so much love and grace in the community. I’ve really seen the very best in humanity ... because of that I know that we’re going to be OK.”
