NEW ORLEANS — At Midway Pizza on Freret in Uptown New Orleans, to-go orders have helped keep the doors open and the ingredients fresh.
“We’ve been very lucky,” said co-owner Steve Watson. “We’re still not making money, but it’s nice to break even.”
Breaking even comes as operational expenses continue to squeeze finances, like permits to operate and sell alcohol at the bar. Like most businesses, Midway Pizza’s permits were paid for but mostly unused last year.
“We’re not looking for handouts. We’re just trying to be made whole because we paid our dues for the last year,” Watson said.
Watson is talking about an effort from city councilwoman Kristin Palmer to use some of the estimated $375 million in federal stimulus money headed to New Orleans to help pay for renewal permit fees. Palmer says depending on the business, those fees can cost up to $4,000.
“I’m very concerned that we can start losing our culture. We saw the same thing that happened after Katrina when we lost a lot of our neighborhood businesses,” Palmer said.
City spokesperson Beau Tidwell says the city must be conservative and deliberate with immediate priorities of getting the workforce back to full strength and paying off debt. Anything beyond that is yet to be decided.
“Any kind of money you get from the federal government generally has some strings attached. This much money at this scale is going to have a lot of strings attached and we don’t’ know what those are yet,” Tidwell said.
“If you’re a large club like we are, you’re talking major money for occupational licenses,” Fred Woodruff, manager at The Beach on Bourbon, said.
Woodruff says every little bit helps, especially coming off a year of hardship on business and personal levels.
“I had to tell my whole staff to find a job, we couldn’t hold on to all of them,” Woodruff said.
As restrictions now loosen and businesses try to get back to business, just one thing off their plate can be an ingredient for success.
“It’s good to see the light at the end of the tunnel and maybe any little bit helps,” Watson said.