"We had been open for about 10 months, and we were doing well, not killing it. But after the Hot 10 came out, our business doubled. We had a full dining room, 30 people at each of our two seatings. The whole room came to life. Every month was getting better and better. Then March came. A tornado hit Nashville on March 3; luckily we weren’t affected but many restaurants within a block of us were. We had to close because we lost power. A few days after we came back for service, on March 15, the mayor held a press conference about coronavirus and we suddenly got all these calls and emails about wanting to cancel reservations. On March 23, the stay-at-home order was issued. [Co-owner] Heather Southerland and I came together to figure out what to do. Our main priority was taking care of our employees. We kept all 11 on payroll (our PPP loan helped). We considered takeout, but we didn’t feel safe with people being in close quarters. Plus, the restaurant is more of an experience thing. So we took it week by week, watching what was happening to figure out the best time to reopen with the right processes in place." - ByThe Bon Appétit Staff
