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 For two years, Illinois imposed some of the nation’s strictest
COVID-19 mandates, creating uneven rules that favored large over small and left
people looking for common sense. Nothing showed the flaws and hardships created
by severe, blanket policies as well as the individual stories shared by over 80
Illinoisans as part of the Your Story series since the pandemic hit.
There was often desperation in their stories, but also the threads of hope and
resilience that define Illinoisans.
On the second anniversary of the pandemic changing Illinois, some of those
original contributors wanted to share how their stories have turned out. Some
lost their businesses. Some are still fighting for their health. But still, hope
and endurance shine through.
Here is how they are doing now.
Sheldrick Holmes
Sheldrick Holmes was uninspired by his finance job, so went to culinary school
and opened the Grail Café in January 2020 in Chicago’s South Loop. It was a
success, until the state and the pandemic shut him down. He survived, but then
the Delta variant and more restrictions hit harder.
“At a certain point, I didn’t even want aid. I actually just wanted to be open
and work. I wanted to live and die on my own. I felt like they should just let
me be open, let me work. I wanted to hustle like we had pre-COVID, and see how
far I made it,” Holmes said. “And that just wasn’t the story.”
The Grail Café closed in November 2021. But Holmes isn’t giving up on Chicago.
He’s figuring out the next way he can contribute to the city.
“I won because I opened a business and I kept it open.”
Jackie Jackson
Jackie Jackson was $70,000 behind in rent on her Kilwins location on Michigan
Avenue in Chicago because of the COVID-19 closures. Then the George Floyd riots
left her ice cream and chocolate shop shattered.
But Jackson and her partners refused to give up. They learned to innovate,
catering to the pandemic demand for drive-thru food. They expanded, but only
thanks to their drive to learn, take risks and believe.
“But one thing about this pandemic, it pretty much was a reset button. We got a
timeout. We had nothing else to do, so we started learning. We reinvented
ourselves,” Jackson said.
“We have just got to keep going, keep pushing. We have to overcome this. And I
know we will.”
Kevin Promenschenkel
Poopy’s Biker Bar in Savanna, Illinois, was forced to shut down at the beginning
of the pandemic, but owner Kevin Promenschenkel fought back to save the business
he built over 24 years. Defiance gained him threats from state regulators
promising to put him permanently out of business.
Two years later, Promenschenkel said his resistance and customer support for it
were the only things that kept Poopy’s alive. He said surviving the past two
years forced a complete change to his business.
“We shut down and it just killed us. Even if they weren’t going to come in and
shut us down, we would have closed anyway. We stayed open because we wanted to
save our business. Once people realized we were fighting, they came out of the
woodwork to support us,” Promenschenkel said.
“We remodeled and totally changed in the way we’re doing business because of the
last two years… some people never recouped from the decisions made by our
governor.” Argie Karafotias
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s closure orders first forced Golden Brunch in Arlington
Heights, Illinois, to shut down, owner Argie Karafotias said he was afraid for
his family business and employees. He gave all the food in his restaurant to his
staff to help them get by.
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Months later they reopened, only to face a new
state closure order. Karafotias was sure it would be the end.
Two years later, Karafotias thanks loyal customers for getting him
this far, but he’s not sure what’s next.
“Before the pandemic, we were growing fast with big companies. The
pandemic happened. We lost more than $500,000 and now we’re trying
to bring back the business. Now we’re just trying to survive,”
Karafotias said.
JoAnn Chumley
JoAnn Chumley’s All Occasions Flowers and Gifts in Jacksonville,
Illinois, was initially deemed “non-essential.” The state forced the
flower shop to close in spring 2020, the busiest time of the year
for her. Proms, Mother’s Day and Easter all faded as she was left
with a cooler full of flowers she couldn’t sell and up to an
estimated $30,000 loss in what was supposed to be one of her busiest
months of the year.
Two years later, she has slowly rebuilt the business thanks to some
parents putting on an informal prom, funerals returning, some
persistence and luck. But her business and city have both changed.
“We’ve also had a couple of new places so that’s good for downtown.
But it’s still not where it was before the COVID closures,” Chumley
said.
“I started bringing employees back one-by-one. We have about nine
employees. I mean their hours are not like before. They used to have
more but people are getting more careful with their money.”
She expects a long struggle. She also sees an opportunity that
didn’t exist two years ago: she might be able to sell the shop and
retire.
Vicki Granacki
Vicki Granacki is a historic preservationist who owns a 100-year-old
commercial building in Chicago that is facing a 300% property tax
increase at the same time the pandemic cost her some tenants and
others needed rent breaks to get through the pandemic. If the tax
bill stands, it will eat all her rental income and leave nothing for
other building expenses. She’d sell, but questions who would buy and
preserve the historic building if it can’t realize a profit.
“Prior to the pandemic, I was managing the building and going into
our office. But now my staff is working remote. What’s the fun of
going in when no one else is there? Everything is just in flux. I
think we just have to hold on tight, do the best we can and hope for
best,” Granacki said.
Desi Mulingbayan
Village Inn Pizzeria is an institution in Skokie, Illinois, where
high school kids hang out and get their first jobs and where little
league athletes come to celebrate wins or ease losses. Randy Miles
put himself in a bad financial position trying to keep his employees
paid as he watched at least 10 neighboring businesses go under.
After 30 years, he decided to sell his interest to Desi and Diane
Mulingbayan. Diane Mulingbayan was one of those employees who
started as a teen and worked her way to partner.
The Mulingbayans have kept things going, trying to survive on
take-out orders and watching old customers flee to neighboring towns
with fewer restrictions than Skokie.
“Customers pointed out that the neighboring villages had indoor
dining open or that they were not checking face coverings and
pressed us to do the same, which was valid. It was a frustrating
situation,” Desi Mulingbayan said. “I’m all for following the rules.
But obviously, people were so divided on it. So, in sticking to the
COVID guidelines, we’ve chased away business as a town.”
Through COVID-19 hardship, increasing labor costs and supply chain
problems, they are determined to figure it out.
“We’ve been around for three decades, not because we’re awesome, but
because our community is awesome,” Desi Mulingbayan said.
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