By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
As of 3 p.m. today (April 13) there’s a hole in the lives of local doughnut lovers.
Stimmel’s Market on West Wooster Street is closing its doors.
For now, owner Mel Stimmel said, it’ll be for a month maybe two. But it could be forever – another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s reaction to it.
“Basically, we’re in crazy season right now,” he said, moments before he locked the door. “No one knows what’s going to happen next, and most of the businesses in town are down .”
Stimmel said he researched government aid programs. “I didn’t see anything that would do much for us.”
So, he made “the heart-wrenching” decision to shut down. “Let’s close the doors for the next month or so and see what happens,” Stimmel said. “Maybe we’ll come back ,maybe we won’t. There’s too much unknown.”
But he’s not optimistic. “My gut feeling is that if this uncertainty goes on for another couple weeks, two-thirds of the small business will go under and won’t come back.”
Stimmel’s operation was “business as usual,” he said, because most people pick up their baked goods, sandwiches and coffee. A few people would chat in the side room. Not many, he said.
“The volume of the business kept getting less as the politicians turned the screws tighter and tighter on people,” Stimmel said.
But the expenses including rent, and utilities were a constant.
“It’s not like we’re selling hardware,” he added. “All our inventory that we use, our flours and all that stuff, is all perishable. We can’t stock up on a lot of raw materials because they’ll go bad on us. It’s the conundrum any food purveyor has.”
That’s if he can buy those supplies. “Many suppliers are out of stock on items that are critical to the small business successes,” he noted later.
Stimmel has operated the market since 2004 when he bought Tyrrell’s Market. Tyrrells still own the property.
He has more than a dozen employees, almost all part-time. “It’s a tragedy to see them have to go on unemployment. You get to be like a family. That makes it really tough.”
And the customers are part of the family as well. “You get to know them, get to know their names, get to know their kids,” Stimmel said. “It’s more than a financial thing. It’s an emotional thing. That’s key to being a small businessman – your customers are actually your family.”
