![]() ![]() He said his restaurant has donated time and money to sports teams and veterans causes.Ī veteran himself, Johnston said if any veteran needs to talk during this time when some PTSD groups aren’t available, that veteran should get in touch Johnston through the restaurant.įirehouse also is doing a pay it forward program for essential workers from hospitals. Johnston also asked the community to remember small businesses during this time, and all that those businesses have done for the community. “My worst fear is somebody getting sick in my restaurant.” Part of that training involves a cleanliness standard that has served Firehouse well with all the dine-in regulations introduced April 24. “I can take my cashier and put her in the kitchen, and she can get an order ready.” “All my employees in the restaurant are trained to do everything,” Johnston said. When Johnston’s wife, Michell, was diagnosed with brain cancer in January 2019, Terry told his employees they would have to run the business to his standards or Firehouse would have to close its doors. He said all those things have added resiliency since the first mandate took place.įirehouse opened in 2013 and by July 2018, Money magazine partnered with Yelp and named Firehouse the most loved barbecue in the state. Johnston takes pride in his food, employees, cleanliness standards and relationship with the community. “It’s getting better, especially compared to when they first did the mandate. “I don’t think anyone is doing well at this time - from everyone I’ve talked to in the restaurant industry,” Johnston said. He said that option hasn’t been extremely popular so far, but every bit helps. ![]() Dine-in, Johnston said, can handle 12 to 15 people. Johnston said Firehouse went to takeout and delivery to Sterling, Soldotna and Kenai after the March 18 mandate, but the owner talked about closing his doors after some days saw only $500 in sales.īusiness has gradually picked up and Johnston said the last week, including dine-in starting on April 24, has been the best so far. “I’m not one that likes to borrow money from anybody. “Our revenue has gone down, but we’re still able to keep our employees,” Johnston said. Terry Johnston, owner of Firehouse BBQ in the Peninsula Center Mall in Soldotna, said there have been some tough weeks since the March 18 mandate, but he has been able to keep all five of his employees on without dipping into the Paycheck Protection Program, a loan designed by the federal government to give small businesses incentive to keep workers on their payroll. Tree House is back to doing only pickup and delivery. “We’re just going to wait until they relax on stuff.” “There’s just too many things we had to do and we only had four tables,” she said. The restaurant closed dine-in service after that night. Tree said it quickly became apparent dine-in service wasn’t worth it due to all the regulations. The governor’s mandate says restaurants can only be at 25% capacity, so Tree House had just six tables available and four were filled. Now that they’re answering phones for pickup, some are still generous, but some feel they’re doing all the work for the food.”Īpril 24, Tree House opened for the first night of dine-in service. “When they used to be waitressing, they’d make a lot of money on tips. “The waitresses are hanging in there and hoping to get some of the funds they’ve lost reimbursed,” Tree said. When the mandate came down, the restaurant had about seven employees, Tree said. “We’ve always been pickup and delivery, and things aren’t the best out here, but all things considered, it’s not too bad,” Tree said. Mike Dunleavy limited restaurants to takeout and delivery March 18, Tree House, which the Trees have owned for 19 years, decided to stay open with only takeout and delivery. “There’s a lot of people we love and appreciate and they’ve showed it by standing by us.” “We just appreciate people standing by us and helping us get through all of this,” said Norma Tree, co-owner of the Tree House Restaurant just across from the Nikiski Post Office on the Kenai Spur Highway. ![]()
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