CLEARFIELD – It sounds idyllic; open your own business, be your own boss, provide a service the community needs.
Anyone venturing into the world of small business ownership knows there is always risks involved. However, one thing no one could anticipate was a global pandemic and a complete shutdown of all “non-essential” businesses.
In Clearfield County, two unique businesses are left struggling with how to cope in such dubious circumstances.
Lefort’s Sweet Shoppe
Charles and Kelly Lefort had been looking to open a coffee shop in the downtown Clearfield area.
The shop would serve not only to provide that critical dose of wake-up juice, but it would also allow the Lefort’s to interact with the public.
As an ordained minister, Charles was hoping to minister to the public and share his faith.
However, the cost of opening a new business in a vacant storefront was “prohibitive.” It seemed as if luck was in their favor when a business on Market Street in Clearfield became available.
“We had given up on the idea, when Neeper’s Sweet Treats was posted for sale on Facebook,” Kelly said via e-mail. “We moved quickly to purchase the shop.” She said the sale was finalized on Black Friday of 2018.
Now that they had a location for their business, the Lefort’s were ready to open. They held a “soft opening” about a week after finalizing the sale of the store. They offered coffee, candy and ice cream.
They later held a “grand opening,” which allowed them to introduce new products, such as their signature muffins.
When the Lefort’s took over the store, they had signed a six-month lease with the building’s owner and acquired a six-month extension. In May 2019, the Lefort’s learned the building had been sold and that the lease would not be renewed.
Not willing to give up on their dream, the Lefort’s immediately began looking for a new location.
“We looked at almost every vacant spot in town,” Kelly said. “We intended to relocate, but it depended on the cost and feasibility to make the move.”
At the end of June 2019, the Lefort’s entered into negotiations to purchase their present location on Third Street in Clearfield. They closed on the deal on Aug. 10. The new location had a lot of the required elements already in place.
Working with Clearfield Borough and Code Enforcement Officer Larry Mack, the Lefort’s began to prepare their new location.
“Costs were minimal to move, as we utilized friends and family. We still have plans for the building,” Kelly said.
Although their business wasn’t quite ready to open, the Lefort’s decided to have an ice cream stand at the Clearfield County Fair, hoping the proceeds would help with the costs of relocating and renovating their new store.
Unfortunately, attendance at the fair was not what they had anticipated, and they did not see the profit they had hoped for. They used what little they had to complete the move.
By September 2019, Lefort’s Sweet Shop had reopened. They were now able to expand their business to include donuts from Scotty’s Donuts in DuBois, deli sandwiches, grande milkshakes and big cookies.
Kelly said the shop stayed afloat during the winter months, particularly over Valentine’s Day, and the Lefort’s were anticipating a profitable season for ice cream during the warm summer months, that would boost their income.
The sweet shop had been in operation for about 15 months, when the COVID-19 outbreak began. The Lefort’s, along with all small, local businesses were faced with the dilemma of staying open or protecting public health and safety.
Knowing they were risking the future of their dream, the Lefort’s opted to shut down completely, rather than implement a “curb-side or take-out” system.
“There was a variety of issues that played into our decision to shut down,” Kelly said. “We did not consider the shop essential, even though we met the definition.
“There was not much clarity at the beginning of the shut down as to who was and was not essential. We had to consider the health of our patrons as well as ourselves if we remained open.
“We decided closing would be best to protect the public. Charles is in the high-risk category being a diabetic with complications.
“Winter sales were poor and the anticipation of growing needed sales during the shutdown did not appear to be feasible.”
The future of the shop is still uncertain. The Lefort’s were hoping business would increase with the warmer weather. Unfortunately, the shutdown did not eliminate the bills. Kelly says without a good, solid boost financially, reopening the shop will be a huge undertaking.
She said the business did not qualify for the small business grants and loans. The shop was able to receive $1,000 and some friends have offered assistance.
However, the shop presently has low inventory and the risks to Charles’ health are a foremost concern. Kelly said there have been individuals who have offered to help work at the shop on a volunteer basis, if they reopen, until they are able to earn enough to hire employees.
“We have not taken money for ourselves since opening the shop as we reinvested monies in the shop. This has resulted in our not qualifying for the Small Business PPP. We are interested in discussing investment opportunities with anyone who desires to help us with this endeavor,” she said.
Kelly said it will take between $5,000- $10,000 to adequately reopen and maintain the shop until the customer base is reestablished.
“We believe that if we are intended to reopen that God will provide a way for that to occur,” Kelly said. “We need much wisdom, knowledge and patience in this process.
“We will work with anyone interested in investing. We are not looking for handouts. We desire to repay all who help over time.”
Even with the hardships the Lefort’s have faced, they have not second-guessed their decision to close.
“The shop is unique to the downtown,” Kelly said. “We offer a location for people to come and hangout and de-stress from their day. We have helped many in need (by) providing free meals if needed.
“We also support local non-profits as we have attempted to give back. When we had surplus goods at the end of the day, we often gave to the Men’s Shelter, (the) hospital ER and local business people.
“We are here to serve Clearfield and help better the lives of those in which we come in contact. Our success is your success.”
Click here to support the Go Fund Me campaign to “Save Lefort’s Sweet Shoppe.”
Clearfield Super 322 Drive-in
Even well-established businesses are struggling. The Clearfield Super 322 Drive-in had been looking to celebrate its 70th year in business, but COVID-19 had other plans.
Bill and Barb Frankhouser, who have owned and operated the drive-in for decades, are no strangers to the peaks and valleys of drive-in theater life. Unlike most businesses, the Super 322 Drive-in has just over four months to make or break its season.
“We typically open as long as the weather is warm enough to keep the (water) pipes from freezing,” Bill said, via a phone interview. “We had a mild winter and we were looking at opening early this year.”
Even without a global pandemic, operating a drive-in theater offers a myriad of challenges, which must be met in order to have a successful season. Being an outdoor venue, the Super 322 Drive-in is highly dependent on the weather.
Too much rain or too little warmth can discourage patrons from attending the Friday, Saturday and Sunday-evening shows.
The drive-in is also highly dependent on the quality of movies being offered by the nation’s movie studios. Duds at the box office can spell disaster for drive-ins.
When the governor ordered “non-essential” businesses to shut down, the drive-in could not follow through with their plans to open early.
“The governor has not distinguished between drive-ins and (indoor) movie theaters.” Bill said. “Truthfully, we’re probably one of the safer places you can go right now.”
The drive-in is situated on 12 acres of land and has room for 650 vehicles. The Frankhouser’s said the vehicles can be spaced well apart from each other and anyone wishing to sit outside their vehicle can sit at the back of the field, well away from other patrons.
Since the snack bar is where drive-ins truly make their profits, Barb said they have taken every precaution to ensure the safety of not only the customers, but also of the staff.
“We normally have a cafeteria-style snack bar,” Barb said. “Because of the (COVID-19) virus, we are going to use an order and pick-up system, similar to what a lot of restaurants are doing.
“The customers can order their food, pay for it and we will hand it out to them through the door.” She said they are installing plexiglass shields between the food-prep area and the customer waiting areas.
Even with these safety measures in place, the drive-in is unable to reopen without permission from the governor.
“We’ve been on conference calls with studios, we’ve spoken to representatives and other drive-in owners through the United Drive-in Theater Owners Association. We can open safely, but we aren’t allowed,” Bill said.
Even when the drive-in is permitted to reopen, they will still be dependent upon what Hollywood has to offer.
“The studios are pulling a lot of the better, first-run movies that were supposed to be released this summer,” Bill said. “We’re trying to negotiate for some of the second-run combos, but a lot of the good movies are being pushed back until winter.”
The drive-in has had no luck at all in applying for financial assistance.
“We’ve tried for every grant out there and we don’t qualify,” Barb said. “There was one grant we could have gotten, but the Web site crashed, and we couldn’t even get on to fill out the application.
“I sat there and tried every five minutes for hours, but I kept getting error messages. When I finally got through, we got a message saying that applications were no longer being taken at this time.”
The Frankhouser’s are no strangers to “thinking outside the box” in order to keep the drive-in going. With churches closed, the Frankhouser’s discussed holding worship services at their theater.
They had spoken to local ministers and received permission from the county’s task force; however, the state had other plans.
“We were just going hold the services, no snack bar and no restrooms,” Barb said. “We just needed to have permission from the state.
“We spoke to the state police because we have a very good relationship with them. It was the day the governor issued the ‘stay at home order.’ They told us that had we called a day earlier they would have had no problem with it.”
The Frankhouser’s said the members of the UDTOA are working to draft letters to governors all over the country asking permission to reopen.
“We’re willing to do whatever it takes, within reason, to open,” Bill said. “Some states have very strict policies that have to be followed.”
“We had a lot of fun activities planned to celebrate the 70th anniversary,” Barb added. “We were going to have ‘theme nights’ where people could dress up.
“We were going to do a “Blues Brothers Lookalike Contest, we had a lot of things planned. We don’t even know if we’ll be able to have the (annual) car show.”
The Frankhouser’s said if things continue, they will be lucky to break even this year.
“We have everything in place, we’re just waiting for permission,” Bill said.