As a resident of Shepherd’s Bush, West London, I have watched more small restaurants and shops board up with cardboard signs saying ‘closing down’ in the past few weeks than I ever have before. We’re beginning to normalise ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’, but the expected nature of this phrase has arguably led to a depletion of creativity and its value within careers in our society.
I spoke to Raluca Micu, owner of October 26, an artisan bakery situated on Askew Road. We had a candid conversation about the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur amidst such extenuating circumstances.
Perhaps one of the most significant impacts of Covid-19 has been the economic strain. When asked how the government-supported Raluca’s business during a time of no income, she stated that the Small Business Grant offered by the council was ‘of great help - as I was able to pay my rent while the shop was closed’. The furlough scheme gives employees 80% of their original salary up to a maximum of £2,500 for hours not worked and was extended until the 2nd December - as shown on the Gov UK Website. For Raluca, the furlough scheme was also useful as it meant she could ‘keep some’ of her ‘employees and have one of them return to work’; which otherwise would have been a huge loss to the business.
As someone who has bought magical loaves of bread from October 26 for years, I was fascinated to see how such a well-loved bakery would respond to government guidelines while maintaining close relations with customers. There was always the culture of walking in and having lengthy conversations with fellow neighbours about the best bread of the day, and the local news - but with Covid, Raluca has had to switch to serving customers at the door.
However, Raluca brought to attention to the people who ‘don’t seem to be very cautious’ and don’t understand the new policies. For any small business, it is difficult to prove one’s high quality work and once word has spread, people will come far and wide, with varying degrees of respect. It does seem to be frustrating how uncontrollable the pandemic can be - with Raluca honestly saying ‘it’s only as much as we can do’.
As well as the grey areas that Covid seems to breed amongst our government and individuals, Raluca is a single mother who admits it is ‘more difficult to balance everything’ during a time like this. Due to restrictions on working with others, Raluca worked in solitude during the first lockdown- however, at this point, schools had also shut, making it difficult to look after her daughter while maintaining a business single-handedly. ‘The uncertainty of school hours’ also plays a role in the business, whereby it can be harder to ‘manage business hours’, and the frequent changing of business hours invariably impacted the customers. Luckily, bread making was considered an essential as it falls under the food category - however, it has only been ‘sort of clear’ to the business as to whether they should keep the shop open with sufficient regulations or not.
In a time of uncertainty, from chefs to bankers: we are all facing this obstacle in our own manner.
