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OT: Baumhower’s to offer groceries: ‘If I don’t get help, I’ll be out of business’
Posted on 4/10/20 at 3:59 pm
Posted on 4/10/20 at 3:59 pm
quote:
Bob Baumhower is no stranger to adversity.
But, he hasn’t seen anything like this.
Baumhower, CEO of Aloha Hospitality, owns and operates 11 restaurants in nine cities in Alabama. Like all business owners, he’s feeling the all-out economic blitz of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since mid-March, when on-premise consumption at eateries was shut down across the state because of the coronavirus, sales are down between 70-80 percent at Baumhower’s locations.
“It really is like being in a nightmare, and you can’t wake up,” Baumhower, 65, the former All-American for the University of Alabama under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, told AL.com. “It’s like the worst scenario for a restauranteur because you are helpless, and it is completely out of your control. You work so hard to build a team, and you work so hard to build relationships with customers. Then, it’s like a bomb went off, and it is all gone. And, you are trying to negotiate through something that there is no rhyme or reason to.
Gone is the in-house dining, replaced by online ordering, curbside pickup and Gabi’s “Just Wing It” drive thru. Starting on Monday, add “Victory Grocery” to the list of descriptions.
“The grocery store is just part of the story to me as far as the fight we got with this damn thing,” Baumhower said. “If I don’t get help, I’ll be out of business. This is the last payroll I can do with everybody being on board without closing. The grocery store is the last thing I can come up with to grow sales. It is damn scary, man. I’m not sleeping much at night right now.”
The most frustrating part for the former defensive tackle, who has been in the restaurant business since he opened his first counter-service eatery in Tuscaloosa in 1981, is trying to remain viable for his teammates, on all levels of his company.
“When something like this happens and you are me, you think about all the responsibilities you have to try to keep things afloat,” Bob Baumhower said.
“If I didn’t have the background I have with coach Bryant and coach Shula and the things I learned there and the whole ‘commitment to the best you can be and winning,’ I don’t know if I could make it.”
Baumhower’s to offer groceries starting Monday: ‘If I don’t get help, I’ll be out of business’
This post was edited on 4/10/20 at 4:04 pm
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Posted on 4/10/20 at 4:16 pm to paperwasp
We are ruining peoples lives with the shut down.
Posted on 4/10/20 at 5:16 pm to IB4bama
"WhY DoN'T YoU IdIoTs StAy HoMe."----Karen
Posted on 4/10/20 at 5:19 pm to paperwasp
Meanwhile, governors, mayors, etc. who will NEVER lose a paycheck because of this virus, is encouraging everyone to stay at home, enjoying their power to shut down everything.
Posted on 4/10/20 at 5:28 pm to East Coast Band
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Meanwhile, governors, mayors, etc. who will NEVER lose a paycheck because of this virus, is encouraging everyone to stay at home, enjoying their power to shut down everything.
That is what kills me about Fauci and the rest of these assholes. people are suffering out there.
Posted on 4/10/20 at 6:25 pm to 14&Counting
Seriously, I want a mayor or governor or hell, even the President, to step up and forego their salary to lockdowns are ended.
Posted on 4/10/20 at 7:00 pm to IB4bama
I just hope this teaches people how dangerous hysteria and mass government power can be. In the history books this will go down as one of the biggest overreaction of the 21s century. People won't tolerate this for longer than May.
Posted on 4/10/20 at 8:16 pm to Capstone2017
quote:
I just hope this teaches people how dangerous hysteria and mass government power can be. In the history books this will go down as one of the biggest overreaction of the 21s century. People won't tolerate this for longer than May.
Don’t worry. Walt says we will get hit hard at the end of the month/early May. We’re all just patiently waiting. Maybe by early fall he will open they city back up.
Posted on 4/10/20 at 9:34 pm to East Coast Band
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even the President, to step up and forego their salary to lockdowns are ended.
The President hasn't taken his salary since he was elected. He donates it or gives it to other branches of the govt as needed.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 1:59 am to paperwasp
This is terrible news. This is the worst damage this virus ever could have had a chance of doing.
This post was edited on 4/11/20 at 2:00 am
Posted on 4/11/20 at 8:50 am to East Coast Band
quote:
Seriously, I want a mayor or governor or hell, even the President, to step up and forego their salary to lockdowns are ended.
I don't think they need it as badly as the average American, especially those running small businesses.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 9:39 am to East Coast Band
quote:
enjoying their power to shut down everything.
I think it’s ludicrous to even suggest any mayor or governor is taking any joy out of this.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 11:04 am to The Spleen
Lots of people are living from paycheck to paycheck. I'm sure unemployment checks aren't filling the gap that this virus has caused economically speaking. The pressure is on a ton of households. But nobody wants America back to work more than the politicians.
Trump was elected because Hillary was too dense to get that it will always be about the economy and people's perception of personal prosperity in any election. The problem we are more likely to have with this president is Trump jumping the gun on getting life back to normal before the plague has passed.
Trump was elected because Hillary was too dense to get that it will always be about the economy and people's perception of personal prosperity in any election. The problem we are more likely to have with this president is Trump jumping the gun on getting life back to normal before the plague has passed.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 11:21 am to bamameister
Politicians want what's best for them. If that means keeping Americans dependent on them in exchange for power then so be it. Keep putting your faith in the beast, though.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 11:32 am to RollTide4Ever
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Politicians want what's best for them. If that means keeping Americans dependent on them in exchange for power then so be it. Keep putting your faith in the beast, though.
If you know politicians than you should be very aware of what's best for them. Nothing benefits them more than that their constitutes are prospering at election time.
What we have today is a slow bleed on both sides of the aisle. Neither side will be able to take advantage of that in November.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 11:35 am to East Coast Band
quote:
Seriously, I want a mayor or governor or hell, even the President, to step up and forego their salary to lockdowns are ended.
Um, Trump's been doing this since he got elected. His last quarter's salary was directed to the CDC to fight Coronavirus.
Not exactly Trump-friendly channel CNBC story about it.
He gives it to a different government project each quarter. Snopes (again, not exactly a Trump fan site) lists many of them.
This post was edited on 4/11/20 at 11:54 am
Posted on 4/11/20 at 11:50 am to bamameister
quote:
The problem we are more likely to have with this president is Trump jumping the gun on getting life back to normal before the plague has passed.
It’s not really his decision to open anything back up. That’ll be mayors, governors, business owners, and employees themselves making that decision. Certainly his words carry some weight, but I’d imagine a lot of businesses will worry about litigation if they open too soon and a lot of their employees get sick.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 11:52 am to 14&Counting
quote:
That is what kills me about Fauci and the rest of these a-holes. people are suffering out there.
If you read and listen to what Fauci actually says instead of what the stories try to tell you he said, I think you'll come away with a better impression of him.
I did once I started to it.
He's an infectious disease specialist. His entire job is to determine how do you fight widespread illness. His hammer is designed to hit only one nail and COVID is that nail. He's been very complimentary of Trump's willingness to listen and has been (as he should be) very apolitical. He's 100% right that the best way to shut down this or any spread is to lock it the frick down. He's also said he knows it can't go on forever - and for the "there won't be football this year" crowd he's even said he thinks school will start back like normal this fall. He's just doing his job.
The failure is at the state level where every governor is pretty much locked in copycat mode despite the very different situations around the country. New York's got almost half the cases in the entire United States. Without a doubt it needs to be locked down tight for now. On the other hand, most of Alabama is in pretty good shape. Does anyone think that allowing all types of retail (clothing, sporting goods, etc) to open under the same 50% capacity restriction in place now would contribute to any meaningful spread at all? Of course it wouldn't - but we won't do it because Kyle Whitmire and Jon Archibald will write mean stories.
Edited to add - in Alabama many of the mayors are part time positions where the office holder has a real time job. The mayor of the town where I work as an EMT (and actually used to be mayor of) gets paid a whopping $500 a month. The current mayor hung out with us at the FD all Friday afternoon because his business is closed by the governor's order.
This post was edited on 4/11/20 at 11:56 am
Posted on 4/11/20 at 12:31 pm to JustGetItRight
Well, they'd better figure out in a hurry how to open up large segments of the economy because we are on collision course with a depression.
We have a nasty negative feedback loop going where there is little demand for most goods and services and businesses will fail. Which leads to more unemployment and less demand for goods and services which leads to more business failures and layoffs. Wash, rinse, repeat. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression hit 24.9% at it's peak. Most economists think 20% unemployment by the fall is a given. The virus is bad, but the fallout could be worse.
We have a nasty negative feedback loop going where there is little demand for most goods and services and businesses will fail. Which leads to more unemployment and less demand for goods and services which leads to more business failures and layoffs. Wash, rinse, repeat. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression hit 24.9% at it's peak. Most economists think 20% unemployment by the fall is a given. The virus is bad, but the fallout could be worse.
Posted on 4/11/20 at 12:36 pm to JustGetItRight
quote:
Does anyone think that allowing all types of retail (clothing, sporting goods, etc) to open under the same 50% capacity restriction in place now would contribute to any meaningful spread at all? Of course it wouldn't
I think all the available data shows that it COULD spread even under those restrictions, but I get the argument. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t decision and there’s no easy answer. The current closings are a proactive approach, while what you’re suggesting is a reactive approach. Both have their pros and cons.
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