Small Business Heroes: Emily Seymour discusses keeping her community safe and her business running

Small businesses are the foundation of Maine’s communities and economy. Yet, many have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and face an uphill battle in their recovery.

Mainers for Working Families contacted local small business owners across Maine to talk about what they’ve done to keep their businesses running and their communities safe, and discuss what is still needed to help them through the winter months.

Emily Seymour and Bejamin Dorr, owners of The Curator

Emily Seymour and her husband Benjamin Dorr have owned and run Curator Consignment in Rockland since May of 2016. What began as a men’s consignment store has expanded to carry women’s clothing and accessories, as well.

Curator is open for ten months a year, and relies on Maine’s tourist season for heavy foot traffic. When the pandemic first hit Maine in early March, Curator was already closed, and Emily and Ben chose to keep it that way while they figured out the next steps for their business.

In early June, they opened the store back up, with limited capacity.

“We decided to open by appointment, because we wanted to feel a bit more in control of who we let inside... we would ask people if they were following CDC testing, quarantine or exempt regulations,” said Emily. “It felt like we were able to have a slightly better idea of who was coming to the shop instead of just opening the door.”

Emily and Ben continued their by-appointment-only structure until the end of the summer. Customers can now enter without an appointment. Masks are required, and they only allow eight customers in at one time.

They sanitize all surfaces frequently, and provide hand sanitizer for all of their customers. They’ve asked customers to not try on any clothes unless they’re relatively certain they would like to buy it, and they are required to wear masks in the dressing rooms as well.

In the earlier months of reopening Curator, Emily and Ben kept their staff at home, and managed the store themselves.

The Curator is located in Rockland, Maine

“I didn't want to put staff at risk of getting the virus when I barely felt comfortable in the beginning, let alone putting someone else in that position and potentially having them catch it in my business,” said Emily.

Now, they have two members of their staff come in on occasion to help cover some of the shifts. They want to ensure that most of their staff is still eligible for unemployment benefits, since the store is open for limited hours.

But Emily knows that so many other small businesses and their staff have been forced to shoulder the financial and health burden of this crisis.

“We’re in the financial position to be able to cut our hours back and take a loss this year. I felt so so bad that we all had to make [decisions] as small business owners, do you open to pay your rent and your staff and risk all of them, or do you have some level of control and make so much less?”

The pandemic has proved to be an ever-changing situation for business owners, and Emily hopes that more updates will be sent to small businesses as guidelines and regulations change.

“I think… even just an official Maine email that comes out that’s says, ‘the regulations have changed, now you can have this many people and now you can do this.’”

Emily and Ben have found Gov. Mills’s multiple grant programs have been a real help to small businesses, especially since federal aid hasn’t been forthcoming.

“We just applied for the latest grant from Maine. I do think that money is just so important because… it’s not coming from the federal level right now, and I really appreciate that Maine opened it up on the state level for grant funding,” said Emily.

“Nobody in the world knows what is going to happen, and it’s just very nice to have like grant opportunities available, to know that...will help us get through the winter with a bit of certainty.”

Since our conversation with Emily, Curator has received the grant money, which will help keep their business afloat during the winter months.

With so many small businesses looking ahead, Emily believes that they should be proud of the way they have kept their communities and staffs safe.

“To every small business that is trying their hardest to keep everybody working for and supporting them safe, this isn’t going to last forever, and they should be proud of the work that they're doing.”

69 percent of Mainers believe we should put a two percent wealth tax on net worths over $50 million

Maine is currently facing an economic crisis, with a budget deficit that is projected to reach $538 million by 2021.

While this crisis was brought on by the economic impacts of COVID-19, it was also aided by tax cuts for the wealthiest Mainers and corporations that were provided during Governor LePage’s administration.

Working families and small businesses have been forced to shoulder an unfair tax burden compared to the wealthiest few.

According to a recent poll, Mainers overwhelmingly agree that enough is enough.

In this survey done by Data for Progress, Maine voters were asked their opinion about a wealth tax. Sixty nine percent of Mainers polled said that we should put a two-percent tax on individuals with a net worth over $50 million, while only 24 percent prefer our current tax system.

With a two percent wealth tax, we could increase our funding for essential services, like health care, education and infrastructure. We could also make sure that, as we recover from this crisis, working families aren’t forced to shoulder major tax hikes to pull us through.

Maine voters made their voices heard: it’s important that the wealthiest few pay their fair share in taxes.

Small Business Heroes: Christian Cuff discusses restructuring business to protect public health

Maine’s small businesses are the cornerstone of our communities and crucial to our economy. Even so, many have been provided with limited resources to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public health and economic crises the pandemic has caused here in Maine and around the country.

Despite this, many small business owners have become leaders in protecting public health, restructuring their businesses and taking innovative approaches to protect their staff and communities. Mainers for Working Families reached out to some of those local small business owners who have been working to protect our communities even as they face their own financial hardships to hear how they’re managing during this crisis, and what they’ve done to keep their doors open and our communities safe.

Christian Cuff (front row, middle), Jacob Cuff (front row, right) and Nicole Cuff (front row, far right) with staff of Sweet Pea's Cafe

Christian Cuff is the co-owner of Sweet Pea’s Cafe and the Cup Coffee Shop in Bar Harbor, and Vivo Italian Kitchen in Bridgton. The restaurant business is a family affair for Cuff; he owns these three businesses with his wife and brother, and his mother owns the Broadway Deli in Brunswick. When the pandemic began to hit Maine in early March, the Cuffs immediately prioritized the health and safety of their staff.

It was an easy decision to make; Jacob Cuff was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011, and was neutropenic through his two years of treatment. Jacob has recovered, but the lessons the Cuffs learned during that time guided their decision-making process, and the policies they instituted during this crisis.

“We set [safety] precautions for everyone as if they were my brother, because he is immunocompromised.”

The Cuffs also took into account their community’s susceptibility to COVID-19. With Bar Harbor having less than thirty hospital beds available, they knew that an outbreak could devastate their community.

The Cuffs and their team came together to form a plan, and set a goal to not lose a single employee, who have become like family to them.

They decided to put all of their eligible employees on a workshare program, consisting of abbreviated schedules combined with unemployment benefits. After extensive research, the Cuffs also decided to apply for a PPP loan to cover the staff’s expenses. This allowed them to pay their staff $18 an hour to offset the potential of fewer tips and fewer hours, in case the busy season in Bar Harbor was affected. The Cuffs wanted to be sure that everyone could make at least what they made last year.

The PPP loan was a real help for the Cuffs, allowing them to retain their staff, increase their wages, and restructure their business model. But, with federal assistance no longer forthcoming, having to close operations during the winter months is a real possibility.

While more aid is necessary for small businesses, the Cuffs decided to continue helping their employees where they could, setting up IRA accounts for all of their year-round employees.

“We just prioritized the staff and asked, ‘What do we have to do to keep the staff safe?’ When you start to focus on your staff, guests are happy,” said Christian.

The Cuffs also decided to restructure their business with the health and safety of their staff and community in mind.

The Cuffs and their team made the call that Sweet Pea’s Cafe wouldn’t be opening for lunch the entire season. Instead, they would use that time to prepare for the dinner rush, allowing their employees who were severely at risk to be able to keep their jobs while limiting contact with patrons.

They also decided to have no indoor restaurant seating for the entire season. Because Sweet Pea’s Cafe is located on the farm, they had ample space for outdoor seating.

“We were fortunate to have that much space to work with. We had a great hand to step into,” said Christian.

Sweet Pea's Cafe in Bar Harbor

Dining tables are set 20 feet apart, using firewood to create a low wall as a way to guide patrons to their tables. Masks are also required from the moment guests step out of their cars.

The Cuffs also worked hard to build out their take-out service, learning how to bring the restaurant's attention to detail and hospitality to the experience even if the customer was not dining in.

“Takeout had to be the priority to reward people for being responsible in the pandemic,” said Christian.

These decisions were easy to make. From Christian’s time growing up in his mother’s restaurant, he learned that business ownership wasn’t just about profit; it was about providing job opportunities for community members and serving the community.

“In my opinion, if we lose a year, but we pay our bills, that’s fine.”

The Cuffs have been really impressed with Governor Janet Mills’ leadership amidst this crisis, and how it set Maine on the path to recovery quickly and efficiently.

“She took the pandemic seriously, she shut down the state quickly as well,” said Cuff. “Maine has been pretty great and I have been impressed, especially by the CDC Guidelines and Hotline.”

The Cuffs believe that consistency in protocol and maintaining thorough guidance for small businesses is crucial to Maine’s continued success. They hope that as more information becomes available, Maine will provide county-specific guidelines for small business owners.

While Maine continues to rebuild from this pandemic, Christian stressed how important it is for small businesses to remain flexible and find the silver lining.

“The fear of having to change something and losing something is not what you got into the business for,” said Christian. “This is an opportunity for a business to rethink their model… the businesses who have fared best in this situation were pivotable.”