TORRINGTON – There’s something sad about an empty dining room.
That’s what Karlee Jones had to look at every day at Deacon’s Restaurant for two weeks after Governor Mark Gordon ordered all restaurants and eateries to close their dining rooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed thousands of Americans in the last month.
Jones, who bought the restaurant at the beginning of this year, had worked there for eight years prior. She knew her patrons. She knew who belonged in which coffee klatch. She knew what her regulars would order before they even sat down. She called Deacon’s her “home away from home.
“I am a tough person, I’d like to think, and that brought me down to my knees,” she said. “It was very hard to sit there and have it be so empty.”
Jones announced on social media last week that she had no reasonable choice but to close her restaurant temporarily. Deacon’s sold some to-go orders – but it wasn’t enough to keep the lights on.
“It was about 75 percent of our revenue,” she said. “We went from $4,000 days to where we were lucky to hit $800. Out of my 28 employees, I had a skeleton crew of six people working five days a week, plus myself in there all day every day.
“It was getting to the point where I was killing myself the last two weeks to keep it afloat, but the money wasn’t there. It just wasn’t worth it.”
Deacon’s might be the first restaurant forced to temporarily shutter its doors during the pandemic, but it’s not the only business that is struggling, Goshen County Economic Development Corporation CEO Lisa Miller said.
“Small business is big business in Goshen County,” she said. “Most of our businesses are mom and pop businesses and this is really taking its toll on them and their employees. Some of them are really limited about what they can do. Restaurants can only do takeout, and that really affects them.”

SBA, GCEDC launch
programs to keep doors open
There are some options available for small businesses during this period of social distancing, where people are told the best and safest place they can be is in their own home. The GCEDC put together a grant program for local retail businesses. Recipients of the grant, which will be announced on April 9, will receive $1,000 to help their businesses stay afloat.
The Small Business Administration is accepting applications for Economic Disaster Loans. The loans are a long-term, fixed interest loan of up to $2 million and an advance of $10,000. According to sba.gov, the loans are to “provide economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.”
The SBA is also offering additional loan funds through the Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP is a program for any small businesses that employ fewer than 500 employees that are affected by COVID-19. Most PPP loans will be forgiven, provided at least 75 percent of the funds received are used on payroll.
Jones said she has filled out several applications for grants and loans. Those are the only ways she could afford to reopen Deacon’s until the pandemic runs its course.
“Being a new owner, I poured in everything I had in the first place,” she said. “There was no reserve of funds accumulated that could help us survive.
“We’ve applied for several grants and the disaster loans. It’s just a waiting game to see when those will come through. I just didn’t want to go further into debt, because it hit hard.
“I think in 30 days, if we see some kind of relief fund or something like that to help us, I wouldn’t mind opening the doors for curbside and takeout. At this point, we’re not making enough daily for that.”
Focus on the positive
No one knows how much longer the economy will be shut down due to the pandemic.
According to a projection built by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Wyoming is expected to hit peak resource use on May 4. The model predicts that the COVID-19 situation is just beginning in Wyoming, and it should wind down around July 1.
But that’s if everyone heeds social-distancing recommendations. It could get much worse – and it could get much worse for local businesses, too.
“If you drive down Main Street Torrington, you can see everybody has signs in their windows,” Miller said. “They’re closed. Call us. Order things online. It’s eerie to see that. Of course, our biggest concern is that people are working at home and not gathering. We don’t want to see it escalate in Goshen County. We’re blessed with being rural. We still need to support our businesses as best we can.”
The best way to do that, Miller said, is to shop local by whatever means are available.
“Order takeout, order online, do whatever you can to help them stay in business,” she said. “It is taking its toll on businesses and residences throughout Goshen County, for sure. We are here to help in any way we can.
“This virus might not even peak until June. That just throws you for a big loop. There’s a lot of unknowns. In the meantime, we just need to stay focused on the positive and do what we can to help our neighbors and the businesses.”
Jones said there’s no doubt in her mind the Deacon’s will reopen when the virus is under control. It’s welcome news to her customers, many of whom left supportive messages on the Deacon’s Facebook page and promised to be back.
It’s those customers, Jones said, that she misses more than anything.
“The community, it makes me emotional,” she said. “I have grown so close to all of these people here in town. When I say this is home away from home, it really is. They’re all family. I know everyone by name, I know where they live and I know their order. That’s what makes it the most difficult – not being able to see them.”