Entrapped entrepreneurs: Columbus restaurants that opened during pandemic signed building contracts before COVID-19

BJ Lieberman, owner of and chef for Chapman’s Eat Market in German Village, which opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, stands outside of his restaurant holding takeout bags. Credit: Courtesy of BJ Lieberman

From Mediterranean cuisine to burgers, gyros to pints of ice cream, the diverse array of new restaurants opening in and around Columbus during the pandemic find common ground in the circumstances leading up to opening day and support from the Columbus community.

Several of Columbus’ newest eateries have gone against the grain and opened their doors for the first time while other businesses were forced to shut down. However, many of the restaurants that opened during the pandemic did so less out of choice and largely because of contracts that were signed in the months leading up to the pandemic.

Chef BJ Lieberman, owner of Chapman’s Eat Market in German Village, said he signed the letter of intent on the building that would house his first restaurant around New Year’s Day at the beginning of 2020. Lieberman said he had managed to convince three of his friends to uproot and move to Columbus to help him open Chapman’s.

“Before the pandemic even started, around January and February, people were signing leases, they were getting ready to move here, they were quitting jobs, they were selling houses,” Lieberman said.

In a similar strain, Analee Niswander, manager at Olive and Thyme, said the owner of the Mediterranean-style restaurant signed the contract for the building in Clintonville at the beginning of March 2020, though they had been negotiating the contract since January. Niswander said the process was somewhat rushed because someone else was also interested in the building.

“We were planning last year, but it’s so hard to find a good space,” Niswander said. “And then we find this place, it’s for rent, and when we sign the contract, COVID hits.”

Signing pre-COVID contracts came hand in hand with construction delays. Erion Permeti, owner of Rodos European Grill, which is largely takeout-based, said he hired contractors in early January 2020 but saw significant delays once COVID-19 hit.

“We were waiting for the contractor especially to start working, and he just stopped showing up,” Permeti said. “We knew that COVID was getting a little more serious at this point, so I reached out to him and he told me, ‘I’m so sorry, I lost all my employees. Everybody’s afraid of coming out.’”

Lieberman said there was very little construction that needed to be done within the building, but even small details presented their own problems. He said he has yet to receive the wallpaper he ordered at the beginning of last year, and he and his small crew ended up doing most of the work themselves.

“None of us in the building are necessarily adept at construction, but we definitely learned how to be carpenters and plumbers and all those things throughout the process,” Lieberman said. “We really have ownership over the process because we did so much of it ourselves. We bootstrapped it big-time to get this job done.”

Despite the similarities in logistical issues encountered by some of Columbus’ newest businesses, they differ in their approaches to the pandemic and how they have been faring.

Niswander said Olive and Thyme has been doing better than they anticipated. She said the community in Clintonville has been overwhelmingly supportive and that the large building, which had previously been a Panera location, allows for their biggest moneymaker: spaced-out, in-person dining.

“Once people tried our food, they came back. And we also have the curbside pickup and order online, but mostly, at this time, we have more sales on dine-in rather than carryout,” Niswander said.

Permeti said the Columbus community has played a significant role in keeping small businesses afloat and that although he did not know what to expect when he opened his doors for the first time in December 2020, he feels business has been steady for that reason.

“What I’ve noticed is that people are definitely distant and a lot more giving at the same time,” Permeti said. “So even though they don’t really come out to dine in, they still support local businesses, they tip even more than before.”

For Lieberman, the pandemic has been bittersweet with a side of bitter; he said a lack of dine-in guests and relying more heavily on carryout gave him and his staff the chance to perfect recipes and begin selling their own ice cream. On the other hand, he said the pandemic has impacted business in general and has prevented large-scale advertising for the restaurant.

“I wish I had more adjectives than ‘terrible,’” Lieberman said. “I mean, we were knocked down to no capacity. Not only that, but COVID kind of stole our ability to get our name out in any kind of meaningful way.”

Despite the slow start Lieberman said Chapman’s Eat Market has had, he said he recognizes the tenacity of locals when it comes to supporting small businesses during COVID-19.

“I felt like the community was very tied together — everyone wanted to see us succeed, so we had a lot of people coming in for takeout multiple times a week who were neighbors,” Lieberman said. “We felt very supported by the neighborhood. Whether we were hitting on all cylinders or not, the forgiveness is there.”