InTouch with Southern Kentucky June 2020 | Page 28

Without exceptional effort on
their part, we would be unable to
operate.
And our customers have been
very gracious with very few
exceptions. They have thanked
our team members and haven’t
complained if it took a little longer
to get their order to them than we
would have liked.”
Coldiron said the “first few weeks
were pretty disastrous,” as was the
case for restaurants all over the
nation -- taking a hit when people
started staying indoors. “As people
adjusted to the crisis and all the
changes, they began coming back
somewhat,” he said. “There are
fewer people coming overall, but
they are buying more, probably
because they are buying for a
family instead of just for one or
two people. We can survive on the
level of sales, in part because of the
generosity of some of our business
relationships who have offered
discounts or even abatements in an
effort to help.”
Carroll noted that “strangely
enough,” the percentage of delivery
business is the same as it was
before, “with perhaps a minimal
uptick.”
He said that the restaurant’s
popular buffet “will never return,”
but Donato’s will replace it with
another incentive for guests to visit
on Tuesdays.
Coldiron can see many of the
protective measures that have
resulted from the crisis staying in
place, but is hopeful that when it’s
over, people will band together
like they have after other national
tragedies such as 9/11 or the death
of President Kennedy.
“It is going to take the cooperation
of all of us to minimize the
disruption to our lives,” he said,
“and I truly believe that we
will unite as one (with proper
distancing, of course) to get back
to our new normal as quickly as
possible.”
In the heart of Somerset,
Downtown Deli has been a favorite
lunch spot for four years now, after
Jami Dobbs found the perfect spot
on the Fountain Square to expand
her catering business.
SUBMITTED
The interior of Downtown Deli will be ready for customers once the
store opens.
Not having those regulars in every
week would be a drastic change for
a business that thrives on being
part of the fabric of the community,
and like everyone else, Dobbs had
to adjust.
“COVID-19 in the beginning started
shutting down business, which
cut out us,” said Dobbs. “Then the
stores could not keep up with the
demand so some people could
only get food from restaurants,
especially the elderly. We had to
increase delivery.”
Catering has suffered — 60
percent of Dobbs’ business was
feeding large groups, which have
been unable to meet the last few
months because of COVID-19
restrictions. But delivery would
“save my business,” said Dobbs,
and they’ve done it using everything
they could to be disposable.
“My family has pulled together
and helped me,” said Dobbs.
“Friends and customers have been
very generous with supporting
me, so I’ve learned a lot about this
community and their willingness to
help save all our local businesses!
Kudos to Pulaski Co. You are our
saving grace!”
Dobbs knows some small
businesses won’t survive the effects
of the fight against the virus but
thinks most will and predicts an
“overwhelming comeback” of which
she hopes to be a part. She said she
believes that people will “learn to
live with these things,” but also, she
noted, there’s been an important
lesson to learn: Don’t take life as we
knew it for granted.
“I know I sure won’t,” she said.
28 • In Touch with Southern Kentucky June 2020