WESTON, W.Va. – Back in 2009, the Hickory House Restaurant in Lewis County was our seventh Restaurant Road Trip and it’s usually packed with people. But on Wednesday, the dining room sits empty, thanks to the governor’s declaration. Owners said they’re still open, and welcome any orders for people to take with them.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in all the years I’ve been alive, so we don’t really know what to do. I mean, we want the public to be aware that we’re open. We can definitely do to-go orders, we can do our bulk orders, we can do curbside if they’re not comfortable walking in. We are trying to say open for the public, so that’s where we’re at right now,” said General Manager Theresa Butcher.
Other area restaurants aren’t feeling the pinch just yet. The Main Street Grille in Jane Lew was filling to-go orders all morning. Owner Stephanie Hamrick said she’s been advertising on social media, but wasn’t sure how much it would help.
“Today has been surprisingly busy. I didn’t know what to expect, so I brought in some staff and said, we’ll take it day by day, we’ll see what goes, and we have been busy since we opened, and we are so thankful,” said Hamrick.
Hamrick doesn’t have plans to close down any time soon, but her main worry right now isn’t for her business’s bottom line. It’s for the well-being of the staff who work for her.
“If we did not have people patronizing out business with curbside or to-go, unfortunately we would have to shut down, and my employees would not have an income coming in to support their families, and right now, that’s my number one goal, it’s that they are still about to support their families,” Hamrick said.
