As of Jan. 11, the boil advisories in Greater Richmond have been lifted. Click here for an explainer on flushing your pipes after a boil advisory.
There was no line outside of Sefton Coffee Company in downtown Richmond on Wednesday morning.
Instead, a few patrons stumbled in every 15 minutes or so to check in on owner Jennie-Mae Skinner and her partner, David Shultz, as they offered up pastries and served coffee using a kettle, distilled water and an AeroPress.
Skinner said she wanted to open as “an act of community” — not for profit. Following Virginia Department of Health guidelines, she was able to keep the shop open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The business is slated to be open Thursday during the same hours.
“I like to function under the idea of both ingenuity and kindness as like a mantra,” Skinner said. “So, I think right now, that's exceptionally important.”
Like many small businesses, Skinner’s doors shut Monday after a power outage at Richmond's main water treatment plant caused water to stop flowing throughout the city. Richmond officials would later deliver a boil water advisory that could last until Friday.
For Skinner, the screeching halt of foot traffic downtown and accompanying anxiety hark back to early 2020, when residents were told to shelter in place during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You have a lot of businesses that have recently gone through a COVID situation, and it almost broke them or did break them,” Skinner said. “So, there's a whole lot of anxiety with business owners that would be way different than even you could imagine.”
Skinner said she’s stayed positive and hopes to rally other business owners to stick together, having gone through a similar shutdown during her shop’s 11-year tenure. But for Yael Cantor, who recently opened Susie's — a deli-style cafe nestled in the Fan — the situation feels a bit different.
“I know there's a lot of people that have it a lot harder than me, but being a new business owner, just trying to make it the first year, let alone the first six weeks, is really scary,” Cantor told VPM News. “It's scary, it's anxious, it's overwhelming.”
Cantor said she’s thankful to her employees, community and allies in the service industry who’ve banded together to support each other. But the lack of timely communication from city officials stirred apprehension.
“I got an email today from the health department — on day three. This was the first email I got,” Cantor said about communication from the city regarding its continued inability to provide residents and businesses with potable water. “It would be nice if someone reached out. I would like some sort of communication or compensation for our businesses being closed.”
Carly Moenich — the sole owner of Luminary Hair Co. and part owner of Solstice Hair Salon, both located in Church Hill — echoed the frustration.
Moenich told VPM News that memories of news briefs during the COVID lockdown replay in her mind as Mayor Danny Avula delivers day-to-day updates on Richmond's water treatment facility.
“Specifically, for my team, if there's no money coming in, there's no money to pay them in a commission space,” Moenich said. “There’s been a lot of that anxiety that has absolutely resurfaced. … I have to do something to make sure that they're OK and that the business survives. It's a really helpless feeling.”
Moenich has relied on the city’s business community for guidance and support — as have other local entrepreneurs who’ve shared meals, water and information with one another.
The Virginia Employment Commission told VPM News that individuals impacted by forced closures or reduced hours are eligible to file a benefits claim, if they meet certain requirements.
But Stepanie Davis said the assistance isn’t enough to pay her bills.
Davis has worked in Richmond restaurants since she was 17. Now, she’s 36, and her last shift at Curbside Cafe was Monday — just as Richmond's businesses were forced to close.
“I would hope that there would be some kind of credit to my water bill, but no. I don't really have any options other than to pick up more work,” Davis told VPM News. “Richmond, the service industry community, is really tight knit. People have been checking in with each other, but it’s frustrating not knowing what's going to happen next.”
