MALVERN, Ark.– Small business owners in one Arkansas town are feeling the financial effects of COVID-19.
In Malvern, at least three businesses have closed because they couldn’t make ends meet.
The owner of the Malvern Mercantile say, before COVID-19, it was rare to see an empty table. Now, they’ve cut back hours, employees and even the menu.
“It just feels like the breaks have been hit and we’re never going to go back,” owner Stephanie Collie says. “There for a while we were preparing and throwing away wasting 300 a week.”
The owner of Malvern’s Picket fence vintage market had to get a second job to support her family. Her business that’s now having trouble has been open for 18 years.