Tallahassee business thrive after opening during COVID-19 pandemic

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - This pandemic has proven to be tough on a lot of businesses, forcing closures for some, but others have opened up brand new or even expanded.

“Well the anticipation has been there so we finally opened and business is flourishing here,” said Island OMG Seafood owner Felicia Stanley. “We’re getting repetitive customers here over and over every week which is always a good sign.”

Island OMG seafood was able to do something abnormal during the pandemic and opened up shop in Tallahassee helping residents earn employment along way.

“A lot of people were looking for a lot of jobs due to the unemployment rate and due to COVID-19 but we’re grateful that we’ve been able to employ a lot of unemployed people around here so they can feed their families hold their families and pay bills so we’re just grateful for that,” explained Stanley.

The restaurant opened January 1st, 2021 and says they are not looking back.

Just a few miles up the road, Tallahassee staple Proof Brewery decided to expand to offer food to match with their drinks.

“They can come in to get top-quality food in this atmosphere and drink our beer and have food they were really pair well it was made with our beer it really tied into what we’re doing and also is a high-quality small producer,” explained Burrows.

But just like for Island OMG Seafood, it took a lot of effort to make their goals a reality.

“So it’s been a lot of work and like I said a lot of sleepless nights but it’s really nice to see the fruits of the labor and everyone’s super happy about everything,” said Burrows.

Both businesses tell WCTV that they’re looking forward to continuing to serve the community while keeping them safe.

Burrows says he’s going to do everything he can to keep customers safe and hope that people come and check us out the new BrewPub.

“So we’re grateful to continue creating businesses that cater to our employees here in all around the Tallahassee community,” said Stanley.

Both these locals restaurants opened this year and say they hope they can stay in Tallahassee for the long run.

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