Charlotte's Small Business Community appreciates your support, and so do we!

Here we are, waiting. What will the next weeks bring? How can we make sure to keep ourselves and our communities safe, when we aren't getting clear answers about what to do?

I feel you. Times are so weird, so uncertain. It's why people are doing crazy stuff like hoarding toilet paper. Handling stress on a national level can be really challenging - you resort to behavior that's easy, even if its weird, to feel comforted.

By now, you've likely heard the myriad ways small businesses in our region are adapting to this new challenge. You also know WAY more than you want to about how large corporations are keeping their warehouses and distribution networks clean as a whistle (I got 43 COVID-19 update emails today alone!). But it is us - the unique little operations (like Nourish) that are most at risk right now. Small businesses just don't have the resources and credit capabilities to float for weeks or months without our projected income. We are here for you, and we adore serving you and your community, but we are not hugely resilient.

What do I mean by small business? Technically, any operation with 500 or fewer employees counts, or so says the IRS. But my professional network is made up of many smaller teams than that, and I worry for them. For the team at Duke's Bread, who serves almost every restaurant in town with their stellar loaves, but traffic at restaurants in Charlotte has been cut by 80% at some establishments, so where's all that bread gonna go? For local farmers who JUST started ramping up production to welcome the warmer weather, but who just had a super quiet day at our regional farmer's markets. For our barista friends at local bakeries and coffee shops, who live off the tips their lovely patrons give generously, but those patrons won't be around this week, since they're working from home. For friends that run food trucks and are used to serving the crowds at local breweries, but those places are empty too...and I worry for us. For my Sous Chef-in-training, who just moved into a gorgeous new house with so much sunlight, but the rent's a bit more than she's used to paying. For my delivery driver who also works as a Sound Engineer at local clubs, but so many of his shows have been cancelled for the foreseeable future he's not sure what to do. And for myself, too. I am well nourished by this feisty little company of mine, but Whole Foods, we most certainly are not, and our pockets are not all that deep.

I feel the need to say this to you, to remind you of the network of local creative service companies that are grateful for you and your patronage. You make our unique community with its small businesses possible with your support and presence. Please keep supporting all of us, if you can, so that, once these strange times are behind us, we may continue to serve you with the love and passion you've come to expect.

Thank you for reading and as always, for your business. Be well!

-Chef Julia

Ready for more? Read all about our favorite woman-owned businesses here!