BELTON, TX — Studebakers Pizza in Belton made the tough decision to close their doors when Covid-19 hit Central Texas.
Owner, Gerald Pelkey said they lost almost 75% of their business.
"So we made a really tough choice we had to close the restaurant for about a month," Pelkey said.
They recently just opened back up, with the new dine-in option available they're hoping it'll help business.
Thankfully Pelkey received assistance from the PPP, but he knows the money won't last forever.
"We're not going to see a long term rebound and these funds aren't going to be sufficient to sustain us much past the 60 days," Pelkey said.
It's going to take support from his community to keep them afloat.
"We're seeing an increase in the traffic flow. We're seeing positive attitudes from the people coming back in," Pelkey said.
Filling our days with positivity is something we've been doing a lot of to outweigh the hard days. Employee Sabryn Booth loves working at Studebakers because everyone is so nice.
"It's a really friendly atmosphere, it was really easy to fit in and the positivity all around is great," Booth said.
She's a full-time student and with classes online, working at the restaurant is easier on her.
"My mom usually wakes me up at 8 am to get my school work knocked out and I'm here about 10:45-11 to get my shift started," Booth said.
If you choose to dine-in at Studebakers they are taking as many precautions as they can. From sanitizing to social distancing, they've even changed the layout of their two dining rooms.
"We've taken most of our tables and chairs down and pushed them to the back of the dining room," Pelkey said.
Taking each day as it comes, Pelkey and his crew at Studebakers are ready for the future.
"We're going to take it slow, we're going to be careful. I'm excited to get it going again," Pelkey said.
To follow Studebakers and their hours visit their Facebookpage. They also have a location in Gatesville and their information can be foundhere.
