As many of you know, I am no stranger to adversity, but, like many small business owners I might not have been entirely prepared for a global pandemic. On March 16, Maryland’s Governor Hogan ordered all bars, restaurants, other recreational businesses to close. He also prohibited events and gatherings of over 50 people. Fortunately, the Bagelry was allowed to remain open for takeout orders, but no one was allowed to eat in the shop. We encouraged people to order online for safety and convenience and we decreased our hours.
As cases of the Coronavirus continued to increase, we decided to close the store on April 2 to replace our oven. However, it turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated and the store remained closed until May 2! However, it turned out that this was the perfect time to close down and upgrade our facilities. Online orders had slowed, people were being very cautious about going out so using this time to close wasn’t a huge risk (as compared to closing during a normal time period). We kept our customers updated on our progress and our community was eager for us to re-open, which was comforting. Once we reopened (for online orders and pick up only) we were able to provide better bagels (thanks to our new oven) and were greeted by a bevy of bagel lovers!
By this time, Maryland Health officials were now recommending that people wear cloth masks when they have to leave the house, so we were requiring that all customers and employees wear masks inside the shop. Most people complied, but it was stressful for our staff to ask customers to wear a mask or leave.
Despite these challenges, sales remained steady. Things were definitely different — we missed our regular customers — students who would have regularly visited our shop after school or families who would gather on Saturday mornings. However, we’re one of the lucky ones. Restaurant Association of Maryland predicted that 25% of restaurants in the state would need to close for good. By summer, that number was estimated to be around 35% or even 40%.
The Georgetown Bagelry has alway been agile — we face challenges head on and pride ourselves on being transparent with our customers. As a result, we’ve been able to adapt and evolve as necessary. Whether it’s a water heater that needs to be replaced in the middle of the day and having to close down the shop or having to collaborate with neighbors to store our dough during a summer derecho storm power outage, Georgetown Bagelry has prevailed. But a global pandemic wasn’t on our list of things to prepare for. And yet, our agility and transparency served us well. We couldn’t do it without our amazing team and our awesome customers — loyal as always!
As we embark on a new year I am more grateful than ever to be apart of this incredible community as we continue to work together, stay safe and provide the best darn bagels in the DC area. It truly has been a labor of love, peace and creativity.