Restaurants in Lexington face small town challenges
By Kiltie Tompkins
In the past three years, downtown Lexington has seen a lot of turnover in its restaurant business.
Il Pilazzo, The Blue Heron, The Wilson Walker House, Spanky's and, most recently, the Black Dog Café, have all flown the coOp.
"Commercial downtown stays pretty stable," said Charlene Sensabaugh, property management sales associate at Prudential Commonwealth Realty. "But the restaurants struggle."
That’s not to say there aren't any seasoned veterans to the downtown restaurant business. The Palms, Salerno's, The Sheridan Livery, and The Southern Inn, have become staples to any Lexington local.
And even some relative newcomers seem to be making it. Blue Sky Bakery, Joyful Spirit, The Bistro, Malone's, and Christopher's all came to town in the last five years.
But restaurants owners agree that the biggest source of strife for the restaurant business in Lexington is staffing.
Brenda and Mike Gregg, co-owners of Blue Sky Bakery on the corner of Nelson Street and Lee Avenue, said they have trouble finding enough people to work.
"The small labor pool is the biggest challenge," Mike said. "Many of our employees are students, and school has to come first for them."
Blue Sky only moved into town three years ago, but older restaurants face the same challenges. The Southern Inn, a veteran of downtown Lexington, will celebrate its 75th year of business on Saturday, April 7. But Valerie Lotts, who has been The Southern Inn’s manager for almost two years, said that finding qualified staff is still her biggest challenge. Restaurants that overcome issues like staffing limitations are the ones that make it, Lotts said.
"The bottom line is how a restaurant is run," she said. "In a small town, you’re always going to have staffing issues. It’s how you handle those issues that makes or breaks you."
Robert Chambers, promotions manager for the Lexington-Rockbridge County Chamber of Commerce, said that finding quality part-time staffing is a general problem in the downtown area.
"Any time somebody needs to be trained, it becomes harder," Chambers said. "Then, once they’re trained, there’s the problem of keeping them around."
Louise Ward, owner of Joyful Spirit Café on Main Street, said assigning work schedules to her staff can also be a difficult task
"You have to make sure you have enough staff for busy times, but you can’t over-commit … payroll adds up pretty fast," Ward said.
Ward moved to Lexington about five years ago after running a nature shop in Harrisonburg. She said her original plan was to open a coffee and bagel shop, but local feedback convinced her that adding fresh and healthy sandwiches to her menu would give her a leg up on competition.
"Location and finding your niche are a need," she said. Her new plan seemed to work, as she said her business got off the ground much quicker than she anticipated. She moved in early August of 2002, and said she was busy by the end of the month.
Ward said she also owes much of her success to establishing a reputation for consistently good food.
Lotts agreed.
"Word-of-mouth is probably the best way to market, especially in a town like Lexington," she said.
The Greggs said establishing a rapport has been a key for them as well. Their customers like a consistent routine, and they have regulars who come in for lunch on a daily basis.
But for Gregg and Brenda, staying afloat is no small task. They said some of the restaurants near them that have closed left due to stress on their family time. When they start out, they don’t realize what keeping a business going in a small town can do to your personal life, Brenda said.
"It’s a lot of competition in an extremely small market," Mike added. "You have to take control yourself. It’s hands on. You gotta work all the time."
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd