Several restaurant owners along State Road 200 in Ocala are feeling the effects of COVID-19, and some are beginning to fear the worst.
“We had to lay off all our employees,” Todd Sugarman, the owner of Pie-O-Mine, told My News 13 in a recent interivew. “Nobody came in. Then we went to my manager, and thank God he works seven days a week, and we went to takeout.”
But local small businesses aren't the only ones feeling the economic hit. Several major national chain restaurants, such as Ruby Tuesday, Cody's Original Roadhouse, and Krystal Burgers, were forced to close their stores on State Road 200, right off the exit of I-75. Ruby Tuesday in particular has suffered major financial losses, so much so that they've been forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
However, Kevin Sheilly of the Ocala-Marion County Chamber of Commerce is holding out hope that the area will be able to bounce back. “I don't know a place I'd rather be than in the Ocala metro area, and if I'm in commercial, I want to be along [State Road] 200,” Sheilly declared to My news 13. “The nice thing is we're starting to see some of that real-estate move for more redevelopment opportunities.”
