CYNTHIANA, Ky. (LEX 18) — LEX 18 has been helping Kentuckians navigate through the pandemic with a series called The Rebound.
Restaurants were among the hardest hit businesses over the past year, but a popular one in Harrison County is back open after making the decision to temporarily close.
The Burley Market Owner Kary Riddell says she closed the market's doors to not drain the restaurant's resources and keep her employee's jobs long term.
For two months, the corner of Pike and Walnut Street in Cynthiana was quiet. Riddell said the decision to temporarily close was emotional.
"Moms, dads, we have everyone here, and thinking about their families and how that impacts all of our staff was very, very difficult," Riddell said.
But now, the market is bustling again. Riddell says her goal was to be able to keep her employee's jobs long term and not drain their resources.
"We needed to create this new version of what we were going to be, to be able to operate in a world that COVID exists in, that won't ever truly go away," Riddell said.
During the two months the Burley Market was closed, the owner says they worked on everything behind the scenes.
"So we expanded our kitchen and just how we utilize our dining room. Where you know, you're used to having a full dining room and serving people, 80% of our business is going out the door. We had to package it up somehow, we had to put all the disposables some place. Storage, things that people don't really see," Riddell said.
When the pandemic hit, Burley Market had only been open for 9 months. Riddell says the time off allowed positive changes and even now the restaurant has more employees.
"Our staff is safe, we're doing table service and different things, and it just feels right," Riddell said.