CARMICHAEL, Calif. — Friday marks day one of the new stay-at-home order for the Greater Sacramento region, which means many businesses across the area are being told to close once again.
With outdoor dining no longer an option according to the order, many restaurants still struggling to survive say that to-go orders are just not enough to make ends meet.
A bright "open" sign peeks through the shades of an outdoor awning as another small business owner fights to stay afloat.
“I’m hanging on by my fingers, and I don’t even have fingernails. It's just every day is a struggle to make ends meet," Shawna Rivera, the owner of Lido's Cafe and Bakery said.
Rivera opened Lido’s Café in Carmichael 27 years ago, but now after two shutdowns, she said her business is on life support.
“I feel bad for all of us but it’s something you love that’s being taken away, slowly," she said.
Rivera said their small business loans ran out months ago, so, in order to keep paying the bills and supporting their family, they say they have no other choice but to stay open.
“Let us have a few people, let us have the patio...I think that will keep us alive. We're not going to make a profit, we’re not even looking to make a profit, just, it will keep us alive," she said.
Over in the South Sacramento area, the Franklin Boulevard Business Association said the pandemic has at least two confirmed business closures in their district, and after reaching out to 260 businesses in their area, most said they are also struggling.
“They were already struggling to make ends meet. Many of them [are] months behind in rent," Kendra Macias Reed, Deputy Director of the Franklin Boulevard Business District said. "We’re really, frankly, we’re quite concerned how they will fare through this second shelter in place order shutdown."
But sadly, they expect many more closures to come after this shutdown.
"If there is not additional financial help or stimulus, I am certain that that number will increase," Macias Reed said.
Rivera, along with dozens of other business owners are coming together to strategize on how to save their businesses in an in-person meeting Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Milagro Center in Carmichael.
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