Woods took over the restaurant in January 2018 and had finally gotten the restaurant to where she wanted it to be when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced on March 15 that all Ohio bars and restaurants were required to close their doors to in-house patrons to decrease the possible spread of the coronavirus.
“It just robbed me of the summer that I needed in order to get the business back on track,” Woods said.
Loretta’s Country Kitchen, located at 12 E. Pike St. in Christiansburg, was open for carryout only through Memorial Day.
When the restaurant reopened their dining room, Woods said they did not have their normal amount of business and she couldn’t afford to pay the taxes.
The Ohio Department of Taxation came out to the restaurant on Jan. 12 and temporarily suspended their vendor’s license, Woods said.
She said at that moment she thought the restaurant was going to have to close completely, but the ODT said the restaurant could remain open for non-taxable sales.
“I was lucky that I was at least able to do carryout,” Woods said.
Several restaurant employees have been working for tips only to help minimize the costs of keeping the restaurant open.
Ashley Armstrong, a waitress at the restaurant for almost 10 years said “I’m just here to help someone that needs it. I’ve been here. I’m by her side. I will help her whenever she needs it.”
Another waitress at the restaurant, Abigail Leilani, created a GoFundMe page to help the restaurant recover.
“The past three years have been very hard for Loretta’s Country Kitchen, dealing with slow business and then getting hit with the regulations due to COVID-19,” Leilani wrote on their GoFundMe page. “The family owned and run business is sinking.”
The GoFundMe page has raised almost $4,000.
“We’re hurting, but I think I have everything filed and I know how much I owe,” Woods said. “I was able to apply for the second round of the PPP loans and if I get that, I should be able to bail us out that way and with the contributions people have been making.”
Woods said her staff and the community support have mentally and financially kept her going. Her husband’s business has also helped over the past several months by putting over $30,000 in the restaurant, she added.
“The people in the community have been very generous. I have some wonderful people around here supporting me. I couldn’t save this place without them,” Woods said.
She is hoping the restaurant will be able to reopen dining next month and encourages the community to continue to purchase carryout orders to show support.
“It (the restaurant) is honestly the heart of Christiansburg,” Armstrong said. “Everybody has come here for years. You have those regulars that come in two to three times a day and just come in to talk to people and see smiling faces.”
Loretta’s Country Kitchen is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant has a diverse menu, daily specials for $8.99 and several flavors of pie. To order carryout, call 937-857-9275. For more information, search for Loretta’s Country Kitchen on Facebook.
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