The “heart of downtown,” as it was described Thursday, decided to close its doors to the public for the second time this year.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre postponed its regular movie showings to the public for the second time since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. Now, the Franklin theatre will host private showings of holiday movies daily for up to 50 people. The cost: $200.
The historic Artcraft, which is approaching its 100th anniversary in 2022, will be OK. But there are worries about what the next wave of pandemic shutdowns will bring for other small businesses and nonprofits, said Rob Shilts, owner of The Artcraft and executive director of Franklin Heritage.
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“It’s been a struggle, but hey, everyone has been dealt the same deck of cards, so we can’t feel like we’re the only ones,” Shilts said Thursday morning.
The Artcraft was one of several stops on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s tour of Franklin and Greenwood Thursday. SBA officials joined members of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, Aspire Economic Development and Chamber Alliance, and representatives from U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth and Sen. Mike Braun’s offices, for a walking tour of Johnson County’s two cities, meeting with small business owners to see how each one is holding up during the ongoing pandemic.
“We see that small businesses are the foundation of our downtowns,” said Christian Maslowski, Aspire’s president and CEO. “They take good care of us … You want that unique gift, you head to your local small businesses. You want a unique treat, you’re going to head to the local business.”
‘Heart of downtown’
At The Artcraft, Rosie Chambers, executive director of the Franklin Chamber, told participants the theatre is the “heart of downtown,” with the marquee lighting up the night and bringing people to the city from far away places.
Regular movie showings started again in July, at 30% capacity, after the theatre had been closed for three months. The array of shutdowns forced Shilts to get creative, selling curbside concessions and merchandise while movies weren’t playing.
Nevertheless, the theatre took a financial hit after just coming off one of its most successful years in 2019, Shilts said. To keep it going and also pay his staff, he applied for SBA and other local loans that helped greatly, he said.
Most important to him is keeping the theatre open so the community can continue thriving, he said.
“We have to do whatever we can to keep the lights on so that all of these other places can benefit from it. When we’re hoppin’, The Willard is hoppin’, Greek’s is hoppin’ and Main and Madison,” Shilts said.
In just 24 hours since the theatre announced its move to private showings only, The Artcraft’s phone rang off the hook, and 29 private parties are already booked, he said.
Shilts recognizes the pandemic is out of everyone’s control, so it is something all businesses have to live with now, he said. Still, he can’t wait for the day he gets to fill all 625 seats of the theatre again.
“There is so much energy in this building because of that. Then after the movie is done, they don’t want to leave. They’ll slowly get up to go to the lobby, then they’ll go out under the marquee, but they don’t want to cross the street because reality hits,” Shilts said. “There’s something special when you watch a movie together.”
Some businesses booming
Other local businesses also had to get creative due to pandemic restrictions, including Ann’s Restaurant, also in downtown Franklin.
Jim Klein, manager at Ann’s, told the SBA Thursday pandemic restrictions only allowing restaurants to open at certain capacities forced them to think of new ways to use the restaurant’s small space more wisely. Tables inside are more spaced out, and a number of picnic tables were added outside behind the restaurant. The extended outdoor seating will likely stay now, along with possibly adding a wrap-around porch, Klein said.
“We really had to push the envelope and think outside the box about what we could do differently,” Klein said.
Ann’s was fortunate to have a strong community backing throughout the pandemic, he said. Carryout orders were slower than usual between March and May, but within the first two weeks of opening for table service again in the summer, the restaurant was already back to its usual profits, he said.
“We couldn’t ask for a better community to be a part of that supports their local business,” Klein said.
Gray Goat Bicycle Co. in Franklin was another stop on the tour, and the pandemic shutdowns actually increased business for this shop since so many people picked up bike riding during the pandemic and shutdown in the spring, manager Brandon Street said.
The shop sold more than 200 bikes during the state’s stay-at-home order between March and May, Street said.
“We were busier than all get-out,” he said.
The main struggle Gray Goat has had during the pandemic is keeping supplies in stock because their international supply chain is strained, Street said. Several orders have taken months longer to come in, he said.
Shop small, shop safely
With Small Business Saturday coming up soon, SBA and local officials wanted to remind the community to shop local during the holiday season and every day.
Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said keeping the city’s small businesses open is important to Franklin.
“We want to keep our town, and we’ve put in a lot of effort to make it to what it is. This is truly a small business town,” Barnett said.
He also wanted to remind everyone to shop safely by wearing masks. Gov. Eric Holcomb’s most recent executive order requires every Hoosier to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth while inside a business or public place. Businesses are required to provide ample space inside for social distancing, and employees must wear masks.
Businesses not complying with the order will receive a verbal warning, followed by a cease-and-desist order if the unsafe practice continues. If a business does not comply with the cease-and-desist order, the state may shut down operations and revoke business licenses and permitting.
“Make sure when you go into these stores, everyone has a mask,” Barnett said. “We’re not looking to shut down … we’re just looking to try to do this safely. We need our businesses to enforce the safety part of it.”
State grants still available
While it remains unclear whether the federal government will pass another stimulus package this year, Indiana has a restart grant available for small businesses who need an extra boost.
Businesses that apply could receive up to $50,000 in grants, up from $20,000 when the grant started.
Small businesses that meet the eligibility requirements can apply for reimbursement of up to 80% of business expenses between March and November. Businesses with less than 50 employees and $5 million at the end of 2019, and monthly revenue loss of at least 30% this year, qualify for the grant.
The deadline to apply is Dec. 1. Applications are available online at backontrack.in.gov.
