With boosted unemployment in flux, these Arizona bar owners say they 'feel helpless'

Jax Donahue works as the bar manager at Century Grand, a train-themed bar that opened in October 2019. Just a few months later, the coronavirus pandemic hit. Since the first state-mandated bar closures in March, Donahue has been out of work.

Some of his biggest concerns are looking after his staff and his son. Donahue's team of bartenders have bills to pay and many want to return to work, but Donahue wants to make sure they stay safe.

Donahue also feels the pressure of keeping his family, including his three-year-old son, afloat — something that has become more difficult as unemployment benefits shrink and Century Grand remains closed.

"Worrying about putting food on the table for yourself is one thing," Donahue says. "Worrying about putting food on the table for him is another. I won't let him down."

Century Grand is one of thousands of bars across the state that are currently closed with owners and staff feeling the economic pressure. As the nation awaits Congress' decision on additional COVID-19 relief, the stakes are particularly high for industries shut down almost entirely by the coronavirus pandemic.

Uptown Phoenix bar Linger Longer Lounge also shut down in mid-March. Co-owner Jade Noble doesn't want to reopen as she feels the health risks are too high. But with her staff and co-owners facing a decrease in unemployment benefits, however, the need to reopen is becoming more pressing.

Frank Vairo owns three bars and two restaurants around Phoenix. Events related to the pandemic caused the permanent closure of his downtown restaurant, Nook Kitchen. His three bars, Dilly Dally Lounge, The Bar and Break Room Bar and Grill are all temporarily closed. Vairo is eager to get his doors reopen to be able to pay his staff and his rent.

Cherie Dunn, owner of Roosters Country bar in Mesa, is in the same boat. Her entire staff is furloughed, she can't receive unemployment benefits and there are bills to be paid. Takeout and car wash fundraisers are keeping her business and her staff above water. 

At Jolie's Place in Chandler, takeout is currently available but owner Jolie Grant isn't sure how long she'll be able to keep the kitchen going with no date set to reopen her bar and no "light at the end of the tunnel," she says.

Here's why unemployment benefits are decreasing for some bar workers

Before the pandemic, Arizona's job market was strong. In January and February, unemployment was at 4.5%. Now, just a few months later, it's more than double that. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona's unemployment rate hit 10% in June, up from May's 9% but lower than this year's highest month so far in April when the unemployment rate reached 13.4%.

Hospitality staff, especially those who work at bars, have been some of the most directly impacted workers throughout the pandemic since they don't have the option to return to their former jobs while bars remain closed. 

Ducey's executive order closed bars on June 29 until July 27. On that date, the governor reviewed the order and extended it without setting an end date. Now, the order will be reviewed every two weeks until it is lifted. 

While state government is tasked with reviewing the order, the federal government is under pressure to release more relief funding to help those without jobs.

After Democrats and Republicans in Congress failed to reach an agreement more than a week after the boosted unemployment benefits ran out, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Aug. 8 to help those without work. Under the new order, unemployment benefits are set to be boosted by $400 per week. For Arizonan's, this means the checks could amount to a total of $640, which is $200 less than many had been receiving throughout the pandemic. 

'I have to figure out a way to make this work'

Donahue has worked in hospitality since he was 17. He's worked in fine dining, night clubs, bars and some of metro Phoenix's top restaurants including Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails, Clever Koi, the Scott Resort & Spa and Pobrecito. 

After joining Barter & Shake Creative Hospitality, the company behind Pobrecito and the popular underground tiki bar UnderTow, Donahue helped open the company's newest immersive cocktail bar, Century Grand, and is now bar manager there.

After 12 years in the hospitality field, not working for months means more than money lost, Donahue says.

"In hospitality we thrive off handshakes and bear hugs, it's how we've always been," he says. "We talk to sometimes hundreds of people per day. To have that cut off is hard alone."

When the first bar shut down came in March, Donahue was training three new employees as Century Grand staffed up for busy season. Those new employees, along with the entire company, have since been furloughed. Donahue was among the many who applied for unemployment benefits. 

Now, with benefits declining, Donahue is looking to get back to work, whether that be at Century Grand or through some of his side work with alcohol brands.

"At this point I have to make those moves because money won't suffice," he says. 

While being home for months has allowed Donahue some much appreciated time with his son, the need to provide for him makes the pressures all the more heavy.

"Realizing a shutdown might not end any time soon, I have to figure out a way to make this work as a father, a bar tender, as a leader and as an employee," he says.

All of those different roles make it hard for Donahue to decide if he thinks the bar should reopen or not. 

"I would love for my staff to be able to come back to work, but it has to be a safe environment," Donahue says. "I will figure out a way to make rent for four more months to stop my staff getting sick."

Why some owners feel new pressure to open

For some, receiving state and federal unemployment benefits isn't even a guarantee. Linger Longer Lounge has three owners, Jade Noble, Cal Cronin and Manny Tripodis. Cronin and Tripodis, along with most of the bar's small staff have been collecting unemployment during the pandemic, but Noble has received nothing.

"Unemployment has been bananas," she says. "I never was approved this whole time."

After making phone calls that resulted in very few answers, Noble is now waiting for a response to a letter she sent to city council.

But despite the financial struggle of maintaining a bar while the business is shut down, Noble remains adamant about wanting to keep her business closed to keep both staff and customers safe. 

"We need a strict lock down to get a handle on it," she says of the pandemic.

After closing before the state mandated bar closure, not reopening when she could have and suffering the financial losses that go along with those decisions, not receiving unemployment has been an extra blow, Noble says.

"It's hard and frustrating to know we are doing everything we can to flatten the curve and in doing that, I'm kind of getting screwed," she says.

Now, as her staff members are receiving hundreds of dollars less per week, the bar might have to reopen in some capacity, whether Noble wants to or not, she says. The ownership team is thinking about if takeout would be helpful for the staff.

"If they're struggling and we're struggling, we're going to have to figure something out," Noble says. 

Feeling forced to reopen is not a situation Noble's happy to be in, especially as it could be prevented by government guidance and aid, she says.

"Why aren't we demanding more assistance rather than demanding to be open?" Noble asks.

'I feel helpless for my staff'

Bar owner Frank Vairo wants to reopen his businesses Dilly Dally, The Bar and Break Room as soon as possible so that both he and his staff can start earning money again. 

During the pandemic, Vairo has worked with his landlord at each location to try and work out ways to afford his rent. Some offered assistance in the initial months, but as the pandemic drags on, their flexibility is drying up.

"I don't blame landlords," Vairo says. "But we still have to pay them or we get evicted."

His businesses are neighborhood dive bars, Vairo says, so he doesn't have high end or highly coveted alcohol to sell for takeout as some craft cocktail bars are doing. All he can do is sit and wait for Ducey to allow bars to open.

"No matter what, being open would help because I could help my staff," Vairo says. "I have 76 people that depend on me and I cant do anything for them. I feel helpless for my staff."

In the window between Ducey's two mandatory bar closures, Vairo opened his bars and operated at about 40% capacity, he says. This allowed him to bring some of his staff back to work.

"My bars were able to hold their heads above water, now they're completely handcuffed and it's devastating," Vairo says. "My staff can't live off $240 a week."

How one bar owner is helping her staff

In Mesa, Roosters Country bar owner Cherie Dunn is hearing the same sentiment from her staff. Many have been denied unemployment benefits and those who have been collecting it have now seen the substantial cut.

Staff have voiced concerns about not being able to call her if their phone bills don't get paid. One staff member worried about having to take her dog to the rescue because money is so tight, Dunn says.

Over the weekend, Dunn organized a car wash for staff to make some money while the bar is closed. Many regulars stopped by and each worker went home with a few hundred dollars. While it's not enough to pay all their bills, Dunn says the money helped enough that she is planning another car wash soon.

At the bar, the bills continue to come in as well. Dunn has canceled her Direct TV account as there's no one to watch sports anyway. She is also weighing the cost of paying an employee to serve takeout and keeping the lights on just to make between $100 and $200 per day. 

"We are just going to wait and see what happens this weekend," Dunn says. If business is too slow, she'll shut down the bar completely. 

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Owners ask: Why are bars closed while restaurants reopen?

Ducey's order mandates restaurants can be open with limited capacity and bars must be closed. The distinction between the two has left many confused. 

Of Vairo's five businesses, the two restaurants can open while the three bars, two of which have full kitchens and food menus, must be closed.

"I don't know how the virus tells if food comes from a restaurant or a bar," he says.

Jolie's Place holds a series 6 liquor license, which are typically held by bars, but also has a full kitchen and large menu, owner Jolie Grant says. 

"There's nothing about me that's any different than a Chili's or an Applebee's or any other pub," she says. "If you're drinking a beer at Jolie's or Roosters does the chicken wing in your hand mean you're going to get sick? No, its about the owners."

Now that federal unemployment benefits have shrunk, Grant feels even more pressure to reopen for her staff to work. While the bar is closed and even though they're not working, she's been paying employees just to help them through.

"Some are helping with takeout but they are making nothing," she says, as servers make a large portion of their salaries from tips and takeout has been slow with surrounding restaurants open for dine in. "But I feel like I have to pay them something. Whatever I give them is just out of my own pocket."

But carrying on this system is not sustainable, Grant explained, fighting back tears.

"I would probably just close and let people go work someplace else," she says. "If he could just give us a date, it would be a light at the end of the tunnel."

It's hard to watch nearby restaurants open and full of customers while her tables are empty, Grant says, explaining that her ideal situation would be for bars with full kitchens to be permitted to operate the same as restaurants with series 12 licenses.

"I don't want the places around me closed," she says. "I just want to do business the same."

Reach the reporter at tirion.morris@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @tirionmorris, on Facebook at Tirion Rose and on Instagram at tirionrose. 

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