COVID-19 has closed a few southwest Illinois businesses. Most are trying to hang on.
Fairview Heights resident John Wilmas competed in three seasons of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior,” and last fall he fulfilled his dream of opening his own obstacle gym in O’Fallon.
But Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered a shutdown of gyms and other businesses in mid-March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and it ended up lasting more than three months. John and his wife, Nicky, tried offering virtual classes, but that wasn’t enough. On June 19, they announced that House of Ninjas would close permanently.
“We had only been open three months when COVID hit, and when you’re that new, there is no hope for it,” said Nicky, 35. “But I will say, the day we locked the doors and walked away, we conceived our first baby (after 11 years of being told it couldn’t happen). It’s hard to be mad at such a bad situation when you get such a blessing out of it.”
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic six months ago, leading many states to impose shutdowns and devastating the U.S. economy. House of Ninjas is one of nearly 20 metro-east businesses known to have permanently closed since that time.
But local economic-development leaders had predicted a much higher business-mortality rate by this time, and surveys backed them up. They now say restaurant and store owners are surviving because of ingenuity and perseverance, government loans and grants, support from the community or all of the above.
“Most of our businesses are still hanging on,” said Wendy Pfeil, president and CEO of Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce. “They may be hanging by a thread, but they’re still hanging on.”
Sheila Gallagher, president of Freeburg Chamber of Commerce, made a similar observation.
“We’re a small town, and everyone is so good about supporting local businesses,” she said. “It’s fantastic.”
Thinking outside the box
Collinsville Chamber of Commerce Director Michelle Stoeppler said she’s been amazed at the creativity shown by some business owners, who began thinking outside the box and quickly changed their business models to keep the coronavirus from destroying their livelihoods.
Stoeppler gave the example of Lydia Herman, owner of Champagne and Lace Bridal in Collinsville, who began selling KN95 masks made by her dress manufacturer, cloth face coverings sewn by a local seamstress and T-shirts that read “Quarantined Bride 2020.” She also gave online tours of her wedding-dress showroom.
“I’m an entrepreneur,” said Herman, 57. “I work hard. I wasn’t going to sit back and watch my business fall apart.”
Debbie Arell-Martinez, executive director of O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce, gave a shout-out to Refinery Salon, whose owner delivered hair products to customers during the shutdown. Sweet Katie Bee’s restaurant packaged and sold Mother’s Day family dinners so moms wouldn’t have to cook.
“There are people who are doing some really interesting things,” Arell-Martinez said.
But ingenuity can’t get all businesses through the pandemic, which has eliminated most large social gatherings. A1 Party & Wedding Rental in Collinsville closed for good this spring. Its voicemail message specifically refers to COVID-19 as a factor.
Brenda Whitaker tried offering curbside pickup at The Downtown Diner, one of her three Granite City restaurants, after the shutdown took effect, but she lost money, and her space isn’t conducive to outdoor dining.
The restaurant remains temporarily closed, along with Whitaker’s Garden Gate Tea Room and Novel Idea Bookstore & More, which includes a coffee house with space for people to play games. It’s been a struggle to keep paying bills with no income, she said, but she hasn’t had the heart to shut the doors permanently.
“When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a risk-taker,” said Whitaker, 57. “You’re a dream-maker. You want things to happen. But at what point do you have to realize that it’s just not going to work? Do you cut your losses and say, ‘OK, I’m going to try to hold onto this one but let something else go?’ It’s like, ‘Which child do you save?’ All three of my businesses are unique and different.”
Coming months are key
Officials report no known permanent business closures in East St. Louis, Cahokia, Dupo, Caseyville, Columbia, Shiloh, New Baden, Freeburg, Red Bud, Mascoutah, Smithton, Millstadt, New Athens, Valmeyer, Maeystown, Marissa, Lebanon, Breese, Aviston, Troy, Maryville, St. Jacob, Marine, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Centreville, Fairmont City, Venice, Madison, Mitchell or Pontoon Beach.
Between one and four businesses have permanently closed each in Belleville, Collinsville, Fairview Heights, Granite City, Highland, O’Fallon, Okawville, Swansea, Troy and Waterloo. Their reasons varied.
The owners of Sips ‘n Splatters Art Party in O’Fallon directly attributed its mid-April closing to the COVID-19 shutdown. That wasn’t the case with A & R Paints & Crafts in Troy.
“They’re retiring after 40 years in business,” said Dawn Mushill, executive director of Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce.
Local economic-development leaders think the next couple of months could make or break some small businesses that are still open but suffering from drastic reductions in income, particularly restaurants with little or no outdoor seating.
Some business owners have depleted their savings and spent money from government grants, loans and stimulus checks, the leaders say. Cold weather will largely end outdoor dining, and no one knows what to expect with COVID-19 restrictions or when larger numbers of people will feel safe going out to shop.
“I think this winter you’re going to see a lot more angst,” said Paul Ellis, economic-development director for the city of Fairview Heights.
Ellis noted that some businesses have done “phenomenally well” during the pandemic. Others, such as Sky Zone and Urban Air trampoline parks in Fairview Heights, have had no income since mid-March. Hotels were hit hard by the cancellation of conferences and other business travel. Comfort Suites closed permanently.
Mushill has found herself going beyond the normal role of chamber director, providing advise, support and in some cases a shoulder to cry on for business owners.
She’s encouraged by a new round of grants being distributed by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, but she worries about what will happen if businesses aren’t allowed to fully reopen soon.
“Some of them are not only running out of money, they’re running out of hope,” Mushill said.
Gearing up for Christmas
While Ellis expects this winter to be tough on some businesses, he rejects the prediction by some experts that COVID-19 will destroy shopping malls.
About a third of St. Clair Square’s stores reopened June 1 after the state shutdown kept them closed for more than two months. Other retailers gradually returned, along with shoppers who wear masks and practice social distancing.
“Everything is open,” said Marketing Manager Christine Poehling. “We only have one place in the entire mall that is closed (Cinnabon), and it’s planning to reopen.”
St. Clair Square has shorter-than-normal hours, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Restaurants are limited to outdoor dining, takeout or curbside pickup until Pritzker lifts an indoor-dining ban that was reimposed Sept. 2 because of rising COVID-19 positivity rates in the metro-east.
The Justice girls’ clothing store at The Shoppes at St. Clair Square closed in July. Ascena Retail Group, parent company for Justice, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and other brands, filed for bankruptcy around the same time.
Poehling said mall retailers are gearing up for Christmas, confident that if shoppers have to wait in line to enter stores due to coronavirus-related capacity limits, they will opt to do it in a climate-controlled environment instead of out in the cold.
The following is a list of metro-east businesses known to have permanently closed in the past six months because of COVID-19 or other reasons:
BELLEVILLE
Family Video, 1609 W. Main St.
Highland Ventures, the parent company of Family Video, announced in a recent press release that one of its two Belleville stores would close on Oct. 26. District Manager Melissa Schuchardt told the BND that it had been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and customers just weren’t coming in for rentals.
The Belleville location at 1838 Central Plaza Drive will remain open. The West Main Street store is now selling all its movies, games and store fixtures.
COLLINSVILLE
A1 Party & Wedding Rental and Sitting Pretty, 112 W. Main St.
The voicemail message at A1 Party & Wedding Rental in Collinville states, “I’m sorry, due to COVID, we have closed our doors for good. We are looking for a buyer for the inventory and the building. If you are interested in either one, let me know. We are looking to sell the inventory as a whole, not in pieces. If you’re interested, please give me a call, and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help you with your party.”
Ruby Tuesday, 604 N. Bluff Road
Ruby Tuesday’s nationally-managed Facebook page is still live, but its phone is disconnected. The chain’s website no longer lists a Collinsville restaurant. The nearest Illinois location is Litchfield. A company spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment.
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS
Boston Market, 6535 N. Illinois St.
Boston Market spokesman Thomas Raynor verified that the Colorado-based chain’s restaurant in Fairview Heights has closed permanently, but he said the closure wasn’t related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The site won’t be vacant for long, according to Fairview Heights Economic Development Director Paul Ellis. Chase Bank plans to open a branch office there.
Comfort Suites, 137 Ludwig Drive
The Comfort Suites hotel in Fairview Heights has closed due to COVID-19, and its building is for sale, Ellis said. The Four Points by Sheridan complex is also for sale, but it’s still operating.
Justice, 6520 N. Illinois St.
The Justice girls’ clothing store in The Shoppes at St. Clair Square closed in July, according to Christine Poehling, the mall’s marketing manager. Ascena Retail Group, parent company to Justice, Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor and other brands, filed for bankruptcy around the same time. It closed hundreds of stores across the country.
Ruby Tuesday, 6565 N. Illinois St.
Ruby Tuesday’s nationally-managed Facebook page is still operational, but its phone is disconnected. The chain’s website no longer lists a Fairview Heights restaurant. The nearest Illinois location is Litchfield. A company spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment.
Raising Cane’s is awaiting final approval by the City of Fairview Heights to move one of its restaurants into the building, Ellis said. The Louisiana-based, fast-food chain specializes in chicken fingers.
GRANITE CITY
Church’s Chicken, 3401 Nameoki Road
The Granite City location of Church’s Chicken permanently closed on Sept. 4, according to company spokesman Peyton Sadler. It was a “strategic business decision,” she said.
Jan’s Hallmark, 3469 Nameoki Road
The family-owned, Maryville-based Jan’s Hallmark company announced May 29 on Facebook that it was permanently closing its Granite City store “with heavy heart” after nearly 37 years in business. The post didn’t mention COVID-19 as the reason. The owners couldn’t be reached for comment.
“Granite City was the location of our first store and will always hold a special spot in our hearts,” the post read. “... We sincerely hope that we have helped to make a difference in your lives, we know you did ours.”
The company’s stores in Alton, Belleville, Columbia, Edwardsville, Shiloh and Ballwin and St. Charles, Missouri, will continue operating.
The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, 1529 Johnson Road
The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Granite City closed in early June, according to an employee of the Walgreens pharmacy that took over its prescriptions and where phone calls are being rerouted. It’s unknown whether the closure was related to COVID-19. The Medicine Shoppe has removed the Granite City location from its website.
Family Video, 3102 Nameoki Road
Highland Ventures, the parent company of Family Video, announced in a recent press release that its Granite City store would close on Oct. 26. District Manager Melissa Schuchardt told the BND that it had been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and customers just weren’t coming in for rentals.
One of Family Video’s two Belleville locations also will close. The stores are now selling all their movies, games and store fixtures.
HIGHLAND
CD Meals & Kitchen, 1007 Washington St.
CD Meals & Kitchen, a Highland business that specialized in healthy and balanced packaged meals, closed in April, according to Judy Koerkenmeier, manager of Cygan Delaney Catering, whose owner also was a CD partner.
“(The closure) was due to the pandemic because everybody was working at home, so they weren’t stopping by to get meals to take to work,” she said, noting regular customers included local school teachers.
CD Meals & Kitchen opened in 2018. Cygan Delaney Catering is still operating.
O’FALLON
House of Ninjas, 1334 Central Park Drive
House of Ninjas obstacle gym in O’Fallon closed in mid-March due to the state’s coronavirus shutdown. Owners John and Nicky Wilmas tried offering virtual classes before making the following announcement June 19 on Facebook:
“We miss everyone so much. Many things have happened over the last couple months and we hate to have to inform everyone but we will not be reopening. Covid came out of no where and hit us hard. We were only three months old and there wasn’t a lot we could do. We will be calling all of our families next week. So please keep an eye out for that! Thank you all for all your love and support!”
Kool Beanz Cafe, 212 E. State St.
Kool Beanz Cafe in O’Fallon has closed permanently, according to Debbie Arell-Martinez, executive director of O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce. It had been serving beverages, breakfast and lunch since August of 2019.
The cafe’s phone has been disconnected, and the owner couldn’t be reached for comment. Her last Facebook post on March 17 read, “Hey friends and family we are currently closed trying to work out the details of curbside. Keep checking in for more details. See you soon!”
Sips ‘n Splatters Art Party, 1405 N. Greenmount Road, Suite 110
Sips ‘n Splatters owners Chris and David Brandt announced on social media in April that the O’Fallon business would be closing permanently, citing the shutdown of “non-essential” businesses due to COVID-19. The business hosted art parties.
OKAWVILLE
R House Interiors, 704 N. Front St.
An Okawville shop called R House Interiors closed in June after about two years in business. It specialized in stained-glass windows and items made from reclaimed wood.
“It took too much of my time, and I really wasn’t able to make a living at it,” said Nathan Rittenhouse, who still does some work out of his home. “And then COVID hit. It was just bad timing.”
SWANSEA
Lucky’s Bar & Grill, 1428 N. Illinois St.
Co-owner Mike Neary, who opened Lucky’s Bar & Grill in Swansea six years ago with Pam Bequette, posted this Facebook message on May 20:
“It is with great sadness that Pam and I announce we will no longer be operating Lucky’s Bar and Grill. We especially want to thank all of our great staff, friends and customers through the years and look forward to seeing everyone down the line. Again, thanks to all of you who made Luckys such a wonderful spot.”
The post didn’t mention COVID-19. The owners couldn’t be reached for comment.
TROY
A & R Paints & Crafts, 201 S. Main St.
A & R Paints & Crafts in Troy closed this spring, but not because of COVID-19, according to Dawn Mushill, executive director of Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce.
“They’re retiring after 40 years of business,” she said.
WATERLOO
Tin Rooster, 1365 N. Illinois Route 3
Tin Rooster closed permanently this summer due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to a former employee. Its Facebook page has been disabled, and its phone disconnected. The owner couldn’t be reached for comment.
The restaurant had opened only a month and a half before the state shutdown in mid-March, serving home-cooked meals such as chicken and dumplings, meat loaf and chicken fried steak. It later offered curbside pickup for a short time.
The space was formerly occupied by Bootsie’s restaurant, bakery and general store.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
