KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several local restaurants in the Kansas City metro are reopening their doors after being forced to close due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brandon Strick, owner of The Westside Local, had to mourn the loss of his business two separate times in 2020, once in March and again December.
"Don't want to do it again anytime soon so hopefully that's in the past," Strick said.
Strick kept his business to to-go ordering and patio dining only. He said the first round of PPP money helped him reopen his doors in June.
"The guidance on that was a little bit tricky, and we rushed through using it a little bit faster than we should have," Strick said. "By the time we made it to December we could not stay open through the duration of the Winter."
The most recent round of PPP is giving him a chance to resurrect his business. He's looking forward to giving customers the dine-in experience they love.
"None of us get into the industry to put things in boxes for two hours and hope that is still good on the other side, we’re here for the experience," Strick said.
Strick hopes customers will be patient as restaurants like his try to balance their busy season with the challenge to hire enough staff to keep up.
"We’ve had to sacrifice Tuesdays and Sunday dinners because there’s just not enough staff to work those shifts, Strick said.
In Kansas City, Kansas, another local favorite is opening its doors again.
Poi-O will open next week in a new location at 800 South 7th Street. Owner Carlos Mortera said he was saddened to close his doors in November but is opening again thanks to savings and several new investors.
"You know I think we can all move forward from what happened last year," Mortera said. "We’re hoping for the masses to come, I think we have a good following of people, their prayers have been heard and they want Poi-O re-opened so we did it."
Mortera said the last year taught him a lot, and he's excited to serve his Mexican barbecue to the people of Kansas City again.
"I believe in this restaurant and the food and our staff that we can put up a good product for everybody to try," Mortera said.
