As a steady stream of customers enters Craft Empanadas on East Gun Hill Road, the blue tape on the floor reminds them to stay six feet apart. “We are an essential business and I’m happy we can stay open,” said Ricky Rodriguez.

Along with his wife, Shary, the couple prepare 188 different flavors of empanadas at the Norwood location that opened in June 2018. Although happy to stay open for business, Rodriguez acknowledges that the restrictions associated with the coronavirus have severely reduced his daily sales. “Before, we used to average about 400 empanadas a day, but now we sell about 100 a day in-store,” Rodriguez said.

Using food delivery services like Uber Eats, Grub Hub, and Door Dash have helped offset some of the lost revenue, but Rodriguez still had to lay off two employees. “It’s tough because they [the delivery services] take 30 percent and I haven’t raised my prices to compensate,” he said.

Operating under such unusual circumstances, it is understandable that some business owners feel anxious about staying open.  Councilman Andrew Cohen has a direct message for Norwood’s business owners, “Don’t panic”.

In a phone interview with Norwood News, Cohen addressed the current state of anxiety permeating among the business community. “I want the public to know that nothing [negative] is going to happen right now,” he said. “The courts are closed. I talk regularly to the [Jerome Gun Hill] BID.”

Since Mar. 15, Cohen has been sending out daily community update emails on COVID-19. They have included a wide range of topics from announcing the location of new testing facilities to information on free webinars for small business owners. Residents can sign up for the emails here.

Accounting and tax preparation services are also deemed essential businesses. Klajd Gazulli owns and operates Main Street Group Holdings in Norwood. Prior to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions, he would see many of his clients at his office. Now, all his consulting work is done online. “I’ve told clients not to come in but emailed them that we are open for business,” Gazulli said.

The week leading up to the annual tax filing deadline of Apr. 15 would usually be very busy for Gazulli. He’s hopeful that because the federal government has extended the deadline to Jul. 15, he will have time to make up for lost business. “It’s hard to quantify how much business I’ve lost because of [COVID-19] because every year I do lose some customers due to other reasons, but business is down compared to last year,” he said.

Another resource for local businesses is the Bronx Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Clarence Stanley is the regional director for SBDC at Lehman College. Stanley worked for Citibank in the Bronx for almost 30 years as a bank manager and loan officer. “We [SBDC] are here to help in any way possible,” Stanley said.

The center is located at Lehman College but Stanley and his staff of four now do their work remotely. His advice for business owners is, “Be patient”.

“There are options out there, like the SBA loan program with $10,000 upfront at 3.75 percent,” said Stanley.  He also suggests businesses reach out to their banks and explain their current situation in an effort to seek financial relief. If that does not work Stanley recommends new ways of thinking when it comes to financing a business. “Some banks only work with their customers, but there are even options in reaching out to not-for-profit [organizations] and faith-based [groups],” he said.

Some business owners, including Rodriguez, try to see the silver lining during these tough economic times. “We all have to hang in there and be safe,” he said. “I look at this time [as ideal] for family bonding.”