Mark Hodge and Nahtahna Stones were excited about how busy they had been during the early part of the year at their Pub Fiction restaurant and bar.

In January, business had jumped 37 per cent, while February saw another bump of 26 per cent in sales compared to 2019. And March and April had additional bookings and parties, a potentially huge boon to Hodge, who has been struggling to keep the popular Ancaster restaurant afloat over the last five years.

“We had so much business booked that we were high-fiving,” said Hodge, who is also a Hamilton firefighter. “It was going to be our best March and April. After five years of fighting to get to this point, we were going to be a success.”

The restaurant and bar had been holding three live music events per week and Hodge said they were looking at adding a fourth live music day into the mix. He estimates he spends $100,000 on local musical talent.

The restaurant’s potential prompted Hodge to suggest renovating the place. He spent about $80,000 to update the restaurant with new windows, walls and furniture. The ever-present red car was removed, replaced with sleek tabletops and dark panelling. Hodge also installed a new pizza oven, leasing the appliance (at about $35,000) rather than buying it outright.

Pub Fiction was also going to have a market relaunch with a new logo, and social media presence.

“You have to keep your foot on the gas,” said Hodge, who lives in Ancaster. “The business is forever changing and competitive.”

But then came the novel coronavirus pandemic that — like a dark cloud — upended many business plans.

Before the provincial government ordered all bar and restaurant seating areas to close, Hodge shut down Pub Fiction on March 16, laying off his 30 staff, including Nahtahna, who is not only his general manager, but fiancé.

Both Hodge and Stones’ staff, which they call their extended family, were able to quickly apply for employment insurance. He also used his firefighter paycheque so he could pay his staff their salaries, along with adding them an extra $50 to $100 each. Hodge also lent his restaurant $7,000 to pay food and beer suppliers.

His staff members are also experiencing difficult decisions. One person recently divorced and is now living with family, others are single moms, or students working to pay for their education.

Stones says the business is “very essential” to their staff, a small group of 29 people, who see each other six days a week.

“Some say they never thought they would miss work,” said Stones. “They have no social interaction.”

Stones, who has been Hodge’s general manager for five years, said their employees continue to send them messages offering to help out wherever they can and asking when they can return to work.

“We really have some great employees,” she said.

For the most part, Hodge’s suppliers have been “very good” with one food supplier allowing staff to pick up a few items at no charge, and the Beer Store taking back unopened kegs of beer for a credit.

“It’s times like these you really find out who your friends are,” he said.

But there are some who are putting pressure on Hodge.

The Pub Fiction owner, along with the rest of the businesses in the plaza on Garner Road, are in a battle with their Toronto-based landlord. They have collectively said they can’t pay their monthly rent April 1 and have asked for a break, something they say their landlord isn’t willing to provide. The landlord, said Hodge, is willing to knock off about $1,500 from Pub Fiction’s rent, but he still must pay $9,500.

“A lot of landlords are giving relief. Most are deferring rent. But if you are not operating, what then?” said Hodge.

“We need to have a working relationship as a tenant and landlord. We can’t pay. There has to be some kind of deal,” said Hodge.

The owner of the plaza couldn’t be reached for comment.

Hodge, who hasn’t taken a salary since owning the restaurant, said the business wasn’t in a position to provide any takeout or delivery options as some other restaurants have adopted, especially since keeping the business open costs about $1,000 a day and he needs to earn at least $2,000 to $3,000 to make it economical.

Still, Hodge held his first pop-up operation April 4 with a few of his kitchen staff offering to come in and help out. If he made some money, he would give his staff a cut of the proceedings and hold another pop-up event.

Over the last three weeks, it has just been Hodge and Stones coming into the restaurant to clean and putter around, making sure everything is fine.

But as he sits in his restaurant with a sparkling new renovation ready to be seen by eager customers, he watches as his $500,000 investment into the business slowly ebbs away.

“It took five years to get here and I’m watching the company spiral into bankruptcy,” he says. “When I opened it up here there was nothing (around the restaurant). I had a lot of people say if anybody can do it, it was me.”

He refuses the federal government’s offer to take a $40,000 loan, arguing that isn’t what businesses want right now.

“I can get credit,” he said. “I already have so many loans in here it’s crazy. I don’t really want to take on new debt.”

And the federal government’s offer to pay 75 per cent of employees’ wages also doesn’t impact Hodge since restaurants were ordered to close by the province under the state of emergency.

He said the government will help larger corporations, such as Air Canada, and other larger companies before they lend a hand to small businesses, which is “crazy.”

“Small businesses make up 90 per cent of business,” he said. “Big box stores, they have millions of corporate dollars to subsidize them.

“What we need is government subsidizing small businesses.”

As he looks at the empty restaurant, Hodge contemplates his future.

He has been receiving messages of support from customers saying how much they miss him and his restaurant, providing some comfort for him, Stones and his staff.

“This place will survive as long as I’m part of it,” he says defiantly. “We will open. I will always figure a way out. If I have to get into more debt to open this place as a last resort, I guess I’ll have to do it.”

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STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As many Hamiltonians face loss of income during the coronavirus crisis, we wanted to hear their stories and find out how they are coping.