COLUMBIA, S.C. — For more than an hour on Friday, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin heard from Midlands business and political leaders on what they were experiencing while operating a business during a pandemic and their advice on reopening.
The meeting was a gathering of the Resilient Midlands Economic Recovery Task Force.
Raj Champanieri with Lexington Hospitality told participants on the call they had seen a 96 percent drop in hotel business and did not know when it would recover.
“But it doesn't look like we will see travel, particularly business travel, which we're very dependent here in Columbia, for some time. Leading the leisure market, strong months are coming for leisure markets, concerts, graduations, and none of that is gonna happen,” Champanieri said.
He said their hotels are opening but operating with reduced staffs and occupancy. He added they're worried about operating safely and avoiding liability issues if sick travelers go in and out as travel restrictions are relaxed.
Local restaurant owner Kristian Niemi said even if restaurants reopen outdoor seating or under 50 percent capacity it does not make business sense for his to open the doors.
“If we see that it's safe to do so and maybe capacities go up to 60-75 percent we probably will,” Niemi said.
Even if indoor seating is limited, Niemi and the city said they'd consider alternatives.
“Maybe an additional temporary variance to allow more outdoor seating than perhaps we are currently okay-ed for,” Niemi said.
Later on the call, city officials said they would soon begin accepting applications for restaurants to expand their outdoor seating capacity.
Already, the city’s office of business opportunity had already granted 283 small business loans totaling more than $1.2 million.
The city also said it was prepared to provide at least $100,000 in aid for businesses as they reopen.
The group did not give a timetable to reopen the city and said they will meet again in coming weeks. Later Friday, Governor McMaster announced the state’s “work or home” order and would allow restaurants to resume outdoor seating service.
It’s unclear how or if the city would respond. Mayor Benjamin said at the end of the meeting the city would keep its curfew, but executive orders had preempted their other local decisions.
However, Mayor Benjamin said on the call repeatedly the city needs robust testing before he felt comfortable reopening.
“And, if we do that, we can begin at least in our own corner of the world begin to create, in a very short period of time I might add, create that level of confidence that might allow folks, businesses, like those of you on this phone call, to reopen sooner, especially as the state relaxes regulations. Certainly for your patrons to want to re-engage with your businesses,” Benjamin said near the end of the call.
Other participants on the call detailed their business experiences and how they were responding to changes in work flow due to the pandemic.
At least one participant said he was hopeful the University of South Carolina resumed some sort of campus activity in the fall to prevent further economic decline in Columbia.
Students have been vacant from campus since spring break.