Many retailers still struggling during reopening

NORWOOD, Mass. — For 24 years, Byblos has been serving authentic Lebanese food. 

"Everything is prepared from scratch at the restaurant," said co-owner Maurice Daaboul. "The hummus is from scratch. The falafel is from scratch, all the ingredients are prepared from scratch." 

In normal times, 250 customers at a time can dine on those Middle Eastern dishes. But reopening rules restrict Byblos to about 100 customers and, at the moment, the restaurant isn't getting anywhere near that number. 

"We are at 30% to 40% sometimes," Daaboul said. "The customers, the patrons are not ready yet. They come in for take-out, which represents a good chunk for us."

Take-out and outdoor dining have helped keep the restaurant afloat. So has its size.  

"There are places that are suffering more than we are suffering," Daaboul said. "I know places they have a capacity of 20 seats. So if you give them 25%, that's five people a night. They won't be able to survive."

Daaboul, who owns Byblos with his wife and sister-in-law, is determined his business will.

>>>MORE: Governor Baker says rising COVID-19 cases could mean changes to reopening guidelines

"So far we've been handling this situation," he said. "I hope that we'll be able to do that with the support of our customers. It's a challenge. And it's a huge challenge. But definitely we are determined to face this challenge."

Other retailers may have similar determination but lack the dollars coming in to do anything but tread water, said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

"Seventy-two percent of our members are actually anywhere from 25% - a quarter off – of last year, to 100% off of last year."

Hurst said while some consumers have cut back to save money, others are spending, just not locally. That worries him.

"If you don't spend your dollars locally, the jobs are not going to be there," he said. "These small businesses aren't going to be there and that means our Main Streets will be looking very, very different."

That's already happening in Norwood, where at least two shops in close vicinity to Byblos have closed. 

But lately, Daaboul is seeing small signs of hope.

“At the beginning, it was a big challenge because a lot of the people were not ready to come to the restaurant,” he said. “Now we see increased numbers of reservations for the weekends.”

He credits the restaurant's focus on safety and cleanliness as part of the reason for that. 

“We have sanitizing stations, multiple sanitizing stations at the restaurant,” Daaboul said. “Everybody wears gloves. We are very conscious about sanitizing everything that goes in and comes out.”

And while Byblos is suffering a revenue loss like every other restaurant this pandemic summer, the staff learned something about loyalty, Daaboul said. 

“We found out that we have friends, not customers, at this place,” he said.   

Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts

>> Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here

RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW

- Download our free apps for your phone and smart TV