TALKING TO LOCALS
How has dealing with the pandemic made you
stronger?
You know, prayer life is a big thing for me, so that
hasn’t changed. I’ve had faith in God the entire time
and my beliefs keep me grounded. I had someone
in here awhile back and I was working at the oven
making pizzas, and they looked at me and said,
”You’re gonna make it aren’t you?” And I absolutely,
without a shadow of a doubt, felt like we would
because I knew that, from a spiritual life, God
had put us in this restaurant from the beginning.
There was a lot of prayer that went into it for us to
purchase the restaurant, and I had no doubt that
whatever was put upon us that we’d be able to get
through it.
12 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE
Nissa Mitchell,
The Onion Inn
How has COVID-19 changed the
way you do business?
It makes me more cautious about
the folks checking in. We’ve put
up some shields to better protect
our employees. I’m not so much
worried about me as I am the
employees, you know, something
happening to them. I think we’re
taking a lot more safety precautions
as hand sanitizing, steady
cleaning and wiping when people
leave the lobby after checking in.
I think it’s just made us all more
safe, more aware of our surroundings,
the people that are around
us and what’s going on. I think it’s
made us more in tune.
What are you looking forward to
when this is over?
The freedom. I feel like we were all
sent to a corner, and put in time
out for something we had nothing
to do with. So, it’s definitely the
freedom and being able to see each
other. We are a team here, these
are my family. This has made me
appreciate them more even while
not working. We get in a routine
and we build relationships with
people, and then when that suddenly
stops, it's kind of like 'Oh
my gosh, what do we do? What’s
going on?'
What are your hopes and fears?
My hope is that they find a cure
for this nasty little bug. I don’t
have any fears because I believe
that when you are fearful, that
the devil has a hold on you, and
I choose not to be afraid. I don’t
want anyone to come down with
the virus and get sick, but am I
fearful for them? No. I’m not fearful
for me because I will not allow
fear to have a hold on me.
Has this experience made
you stronger?
It’s definitely made me stronger
in my faith because I believe that
there are reasons behind everything,
and every reason draws you
closer to your faith. So I believe it’s
made me stronger in that aspect,
and I also believe that is why I’m
not fearful.
Chris Cato,
The Red Stag
Tavern
How has the
COVID-19 pandemic
affected your
business?
Before, we were only
open for dinner, and
we started doing carry
out for lunch, take out
and delivery for lunch.
It wasn’t something
that we ever planned on doing but, you know, you
kind of roll with it when it happens, and it's actually
been pretty popular. So we’re happy about that. I
think we’re gonna keep it going.
What have you learned to appreciate during this
pandemic?
I have learned to appreciate my employees. I didn’t
have anyone leave, and that’s been a blessing. Our
local community has been so good. I know that
people are still kind of scared to go out, but we’ve
gotten a lot of wonderful feedback and support.
I bank locally, and I was able to get a PPP Loan
because I have a great banker who took my situation
personally and made sure that we were taken care of.
What are your hopes for the future?
My hope is that this will go back to normal soon and
that this pandemic doesn’t have the impact that we
were all afraid it would with deaths and all that. I’ve
seen as a community everybody banding together
because the most important asset that any of us
have are people. This has all made me appreciate
the things that I have and all that I was taking for
granted.