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Local businesses taking a big hit amid new social distancing guidelines

JACKSONVILLE AREA, Fla. — It’s only been a few days since events started getting cancelled and new social distancing restrictions were put into place and, yet small businesses have already been hit hard.

“Truth be told, the numbers are down over 50% at least,” explains Rebecca Winchester, owner and head chef for Toscana Little Italy in Jacksonville.

Crème de la Cocoa owner Bailey Rowland is experiencing the same in St. Augustine. She says, “Since yesterday as of 12 o’clock, I’ve rescheduled over 40 weddings.”

We talked with both owners online to practice social distancing.

Both local businesses have had to adjust how they operate just to stay afloat.

Rowland says, “It’s really hard. I mean we’re already making plans to close our retail store starting next week, and just do curbside.”

Toscana Little Italy has spaced out its seating and thrown curbside pickup into the mix in hopes of generating some revenue.

Both owners say taking on another loan isn’t really an option.

“I don’t want to have more debt on top of the debt we already have,” Winchester explains.

Right now, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and others in Congress are working to create loans for small businesses.

In a statement to Action News Jax, Sen. Rubio says, “We are facing an unprecedented situation that will change the way our society operates for the foreseeable future. When people are separated from employment and small businesses are no longer able to operate as normal, our government has a responsibility to help out in the interim. We are continuing to work towards solutions that will enable small businesses and their employees to endure this global crisis and preserve the economic strength of our country.”

Winchester says any kind of financial help that doesn’t have to be paid back would be the lifeline many small businesses need.

“As a small business, we don’t want to lose any of our talented people that we have. They are all excellent and we don’t want to start from the ground up.” ​