By: Madisson Cameron, Mustang High School
Local businesses were impacted in many different ways by COVID-19. Even though things are returning to normal, the effects of the pandemic are still impacting Norman businesses.
A local deli that has served its community for almost a century has managed to thrive while the severity of COVID-19 has diminished.
Bob Thompson, the owner of Midway Deli since 1985, said that the initial shutdown made him question whether he wanted to keep the shop open.
“Well, first we thought we were going to be shut down completely,” Thompson said. “We could put a key in the door, walk away and say that was our run […], but Midway has become a precious thing to our family and we didn’t want to see it just go away.”
Fortunately, many small businesses benefited from the Local Love Movement, a movement that began near the start of lockdown focused on supporting local businesses. Midway Deli was one of those businesses.
This movement inspired more customers to support Midway Deli, earning them more revenue. However, Thompson thinks that wasn’t the only reason for the restaurant’s growth.
“Our sales are nearly 20% over what they were before COVID-19 hit,” Thompson said. “Not all of that growth is a result of just people’s love for local (business). I’m a strong believer that if I’m going to ask people to support me as a local business, then I better bring my A-game in terms of the product that I offer and the customer service that I offer.”
One of the prime components of Midway’s continued success after the pandemic is that it was seen as an essential business since it was a restaurant. However, not all businesses were seen as essential.
A local comic book shop that’s been open for over two decades is just now returning to the surface after the worldwide shutdown.
Matt Price co-owns Speeding Bullet Comics with his wife, Annette. Price said that he enjoys being a part of the world of art and literacy in the Norman community.
Since the beginning, Speeding Bullet has tried to focus on supporting schools and the community. That support was returned during the Local Love Movement.
“We had a lot of people support us,” Price said. “There were definitely some… people who were like, ‘yeah I just want to support what you’re doing and see you on the other side of this.’”
Unfortunately, the support received wasn’t enough for their company to remain open at the time. They had to shut their doors for many months and when they reopened, they weren’t able to operate at full capacity.
For nearly a year, they sold gift cards and comics online, which lost much of their revenue. However, as things started returning to normal, so did the comic shop.
“We had a really strong 2021 when things kind of opened back up,” Price said. “It didn’t completely offset how down 2020 was, but it was definitely a bounce back and a strong year. This year, we’re not quite as strong as 2021, but more like a typical year prior to COVID-19.”
Though the return to normalcy brought positivity, it also brought hardship. Speeding Bullet has struggled due to the inflation of shipping costs.
“We’ve had issues with our shipping costs going up, but we’re trying to manage the best we can,” Price said. “There have (also) been a few supply chain issues. It’s usually pretty easy for us to order things, but we’re having to source them from different places. We try to make it to where the customers don’t notice in any great way.”
Though Speeding Bullet Comics struggled at the beginning of the pandemic, the store managed to survive and is starting to improve financially, similar to another company.
Danny Falcone is the owner of New York Pizza & Pasta, a self-proclaimed “staple” in the community. The restaurant has been on Campus Corner for 30 years and has been a regular stop for many Norman residents.
Even though NYPP is popular among the community, Falcone said that it struggled throughout the pandemic.
“We barely made it through,” Falcone said. “There was nobody here and I had just bought the place six weeks before the pandemic, so my first year was tough.”
The pizza parlor is just now getting back to normal, but Falcone isn’t hopeful about the future of local businesses.
“Eventually, I think what’s going to happen is it’s going to be just big corporations running businesses,” Falcone said. “In all of the mom and pop places though, we put a lot of love and care into our foods and you can tell that.”
According to him, they haven’t made or lost any money this year. Falcone said that he believes that one small movement, like the Local Love Movement, can’t make permanent change.
“I (would) support local business even if I’m not in business,” Falcone said. “I live around here so I try to support, but it’s a small shot in the arm, if that.”
Though many companies had to permanently close their doors because of COVID-19, there are still local businesses that have made it a point to serve their community. There are some things that may never return to normal, but the three companies are just a few of the many that try to bring positivity into their customers’ lives, as well as their own.
“Now that all that stress is gone and things are back to normal, it’s like, ‘wow, I can breathe again,’” Thompson said. “We may never get to see a packed room again, but we have found success in the amount of love we have for and from our community.”
