JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The reopening of Jacksonville’s beaches could bring the boost takeout businesses need.
On Friday, local families were ready to get back out on the beaches.
No one was more excited than surrounding restaurant owners.
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Aaron Levine, owner of Homespun Kitchen told Action News Jax, “At this point, we haven’t had to lay people off. We’ve had to cut back hours. I’m hoping that this 60%-70% drop is, kind of, our bottom.”
Levine admitted, his restaurant has been luckier than others in the area.
“We were quickly able to transition to mobile orders, to delivery, to pick up here. We’re a small footprint so 60%-70% for us, I think, is good. Some of the restaurants haven’t even been able to maintain that,” he explained.
Action News Jax reported Thursday when Mayor Lenny Curry announced the reopening of Jacksonville’s beaches for the first time during the pandemic.
“I absolutely see that more people will come out. I think business will increase. I think from an economic standpoint it’ll be good for everybody out here, as long as we still can stay safe,” Levine said.
He said he’s hoping the additional foot traffic will bring beachgoers right to the restaurant door.
“I think that if we take baby steps then we can see an increase in business, and we can be safe and not see a spike in cases,” said Levine.
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