Mount Pleasant Magazine Documenting Covid-19

59 www.CoronavirusMag.com | www.ReadMPM.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com feature W hen the pulse started to take a turn and locals began taking COVID-19 more seriously, businesses became either essential or non-essential, a critical classification for small and micro businesses with impacts that will last long after the pandemic. Local towns issued stay-at-home orders. Beaches were closed off to non-residents. Visitors were essentially turned away at the gates. Among the hardest hit of the shutdown has been the food and beverage industry. The Charleston area is world-renowned for its restaurants, tourism and hospitality. Locally, the restaurant community is more independent, comprised of hospitality groups more so than it is chain-based—which means ownership looks different than it may in a larger area with a wide variety of chain restaurants, for example. According to the Small Business Administration’s 2019 Business Profile, small businesses comprise 99.9% of all business ownership in the United States. Thankfully, restaurants were deemed BY JEANNE TAYLOR For the Love of Local Small Business