These small-business owners made their dreams come true — and then the coronavirus hit

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A distillery is switching to pumping out batches of free hand sanitizer. “I feel like it’s a civic duty to be open right now,” says a bakery owner. Here are the small business owners striving to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic:

As the coronavirus body-checks the U.S. economy, small businesses from coast to coast have been thrown off their feet. Company owners are trying to figure out how to keep doing what they do, how to keep the lights on, and how to shield their workforces from the worst of the downturn ahead.

Glassboro has, in her words, an “up and coming downtown,” and the trio kicked in about $130,000 of their own money and took a loan for about double that amount from a New Jersey–based community-development financial institution. To Lockman, the best evidence of the brewery’s “strong loyal, loving fan base” is that people are buying more of their “Mug Club Memberships,” which means paying upfront for beer they’ll drink later. “It’s a little more effort to shop at the little guy than just hitting the liquor store, but, at the end of the day, you’re supporting me … and my two kids sitting there studying,” she said with a laugh.‘Life is short ...

The sense of uncertainty was overwhelming, Bell said. “There was no guidance for us business owners. We just had to figure it out.” Initially, he wanted to simply cut back on peoples’ hours — but then learned that would make them ineligible for unemployment benefits. When he tried to pay for an extra month of health insurance for the people he’d just laid off, The Shop’s insurance provider said no.

Mad River makes more than half a dozen craft spirits, including some award winners, and now has two tasting rooms. The company was just starting to ship its spirits around the country, including to New York, but those plans are now on hold. “A couple hundred” people showed up to fill their own bottles at two locations on Thursday, Egan told MarketWatch. “We posted signs saying, maintain your distance, keep the crowd down,” Egan said. “They were great. They kept 10 [or] 15 feet between them.”

‘I feel like it’s a civic duty to be open right now’: Hello Robin bakery, Seattle In 2013, Robin Wehl Martin was a Seattle stay-at-home-mom of three going “stir crazy.” She started baking cookies to let off steam, and was approached by Molly Moon, a friend who owned an ice-cream shop. Would Martin be willing to make cookies so Moon could put ice-cream sandwiches on the menu?

 

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Don't care. No taxpayer funded bailout is warranted. Nothing but welfare.

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