Gina’s Italian Food and Spirits on Eaton Avenue will serve its last meal and drink on Saturday. The restaurant, a popular Hamilton eatery for the past decade, is joining a growing list of small businesses across the city that have been shuttered by the Great Recession.
City officials could not quantify the number of small business lost over the past two to three years, but so far this year, four longtime Hamilton businesses have closed or soon will, including Ohio Lunch, Wagner Lock and Key and Porcellana. All have cited the economy as a key factor.
Some small-business owners say it was hard enough to compete with big-box retailers and food chains before the economic downturn.
Ryan’s Tavern on High Street will reach its fourth year of operation in October. Owner Don Ryan, a former Hamilton mayor, said Gina’s and other small businesses are not alone in their struggles. Since opening in 2008, Ryan’s has decreased its work force from 75 to 25.
“It’s so hard to compete against chains because they can buy their food cheaper from warehouses,” Ryan said. “When the recession comes, it’s doubly hard because discretionary income is limited.”
Ryan said his customer base has gotten noticeably smaller with larger companies leaving downtown such as Fifth Third Bank, First Financial Bank, and Ohio Casualty.
“This is the hardest recession we’ve faced,” Ryan said. “This has got to end sometime but I honestly believe it’s not in sight.”
Paying higher rates in taxes, liability insurance and product, in addition to the economic recession, also is taking its toll on small-business owners, said Nick Dadabo, owner of Chester’s Pizza on Ohio 4.
“This is punching the independent little guy right between the eyes,” he said.
City and Chamber of Commerce officials say the small business losses are a concern for a city trying to reinvent and rebuild. Small businesses are a critical part of the local economy, they say, because they provide residents with jobs and their revenue tends to stay within the community.
Brandon Saurber, small business liaison for the city, said any business closings are difficult, but especially those with long-standing tenures.
“These are very difficult times and I’m quite sure we’re not the only community dealing with these things,” Saurber said.
Molly Brogan, vice president of public affairs for the National Small Business Association, a nonprofit organization representing more than 150,000 small businesses, said current economic conditions have been difficult for small businesses nationwide to maneuver.
“We hear of problems with accessing capital and ongoing viability of business,” Brogan said. “In general terms, businesses should make sure they have a good balance of reserve funds.”
Roughly two-thirds of new small businesses make it past two years, and about 40 percent make it past four years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Kenny Craig, CEO and president of the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, said those statistics are lower for restaurants and clothing stores.
“The poor economy over the past several years has perhaps lowered these percentages some,” Craig said.
Saurber said he remains optimistic about new business investing in Hamilton. He cited the recent opening of Meisterhaus German Lodge Bar; impending openings of a train-themed restaurant on Pleasant Avenue in Lindenwald and True West Coffee on Main Street; and expansion project at Easy’s in the Village.
“Folks are still struggling with the loss of Elder-Beerman,” Saurber said. “It’s understandable for people to be nostalgic, but it’s important to remain hopeful.”
The Eaton Avenue building Isgro operates in used to be Wolpert’s Cafe for more than 50 years. Sandra Ryan Brown, of Hamilton, said it was a regular hangout for her during late high school and early college years. Brown will be braving the crowds Saturday for one last drink at Gina’s.
“When people came back in town we’d go there; it’s our stomping ground,” Brown said. “The atmosphere is like in Cheers, you always know someone. ”
Brown said she still frequents Gina’s almost weekly with her husband and loves the lasagna and steak sandwiches. Brown said her 23-year-old son also loves going to the bar.
Fairfield resident Don Carpenter said going to the original Isgro’s restaurant was like stepping into a scene of Lady in the Tramp, “with wine bottles and checkered tables.”
“The Isgro family was an iconic Hamilton family for many years,” Carpenter said. “I hate to see her close; she’s really tried hard. There’s passion in the food.”
Carpenter, whose family owned Carpenter Monuments in Hamilton for more than 150 years, attributes the closing of small businesses today to a number of factors — changing demographics, the Ohio smoking ban, the economy, location, and high costs with insurance, utilities, rent, and taxes.
“When you go to West Chester, you can see a difference; it’s bustling,” Carpenter said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to revitalize. It’s kind of sad but the west side seems to do pretty well.”
Both Saurber and Craig said Hamilton’s economic situation is not an oddity during this slow economic recovery.
“People are eating out less, period,” Craig said. “Not that (restaurants) are losing to someone else, but people are eating out less.”
Craig said more recently businesses have had to reinvent themselves.
“Small businesses hurt more than anybody,” Craig said. “We still have businesses that add to the fabric of the community.”
Saurber said during his visits to small businesses, he hears mixed messages, as some businesses such as Riverbank Cafe are thriving while others continue to suffer.
Saurber said the city’s small business retention strategy involves working with the six business districts, primarily made of small businesses, and different committees at the chamber, such as the small business council, construction services and economic development.
“It’s not all doom and gloom; some are doing very well,” Saurber said. “New opportunities can arise for Hamilton to reinvent itself with new homegrown business.”
Dadabo echoed Saurber regarding the possibility of a rebirth in Hamilton.
“If there’s any city in Ohio that can come back, it’s Hamilton,” Dadabo said. “All we can do is hang on, work hard and work smart.”
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