Earlier this month, a vandal threw a brick through the glass storefront of a Latino restaurant in Downtown Baltimore. It was just the latest headache for Elisa Milan, founder and owner of The Empanada Lady.
Running a food business is not easy, especially in Baltimore. High utility and food costs, staffing issues and vandalism take their toll and draw resources away from what entrepreneurs like best: making customers happy. Milan learned that her insurance would not cover a window replacement. So, she put out a call for help on social media. Buy a little more and come visit, she asked her followers and supporters.
The effort generated results. But it also illustrates the improvisation and resourcefulness are needed to survive as a small business, especially downtown.
Baltimore Fishbowl talked to Milan about her experiences operating as a restauranteur in Downtown Baltimore, where her South Street location is close to courthouses and office buildings and a few blocks from the Inner Harbor.
Baltimore Fishbowl: How and why did you select the South Street location to operate your business? Did you consider other locations?
Elisa Milan: I ended up with the South Street location because of the support that I got from the Downtown Partnership. They had given me a listing of locations to consider, and they also gave me a grant to open the doors, which took some financial weight off. I did look in Station North, which was my preferred, desired first choice. I also looked in Midtown, and I looked in Towson.
BFB: Did the city and/or Downtown Partnership make it easy – or maybe make it hard – to set up shop? Are there enough resources for small businesses and restaurants?
EM: I ultimately went with downtown because of the revitalization efforts and the financial support that they were offering, and not even just in grants. They helped me navigate the permits. They just made it easy. I opened the restaurant in 30 days. So, they did make it easy….I think there could always be more resources, especially capital and funding for small businesses. I think there’s a lot that a lot of businesses aren’t even aware of [what is available], because it’s not like there’s an easy place just to get the info.
But I do think that it would be good to have more funding for small businesses. We just do not have access to capital for mistakes or accidents or vandalism. Even mistakes like my team might make with an order of food or a bottle that breaks, everything is so costly and really detrimental, with me being the only financial provider for the business.
BFB: What have been the biggest challenges since you’ve been in operation? What are the biggest wins?
EM: The biggest challenge since I’ve been in operation has been staffing. Maintaining good leadership and consistent staff over three years has been the hardest part of it, outside of capital. We go through high highs and low lows. Very extreme highs, very extreme lows. But I don’t have leadership right now.
The biggest wins, I would say, is the work I do with the youth in the community. We have an internship program and we participate in YouthWorks. I do a lot of first-chance and second-chance hires. In partnership with the community, the art we have on the wall is for sale, and we don’t take any commission. We have become a hub for the LGBTQ community, and really being able to bring a bright light on Puerto Rican culture is a big win for us.
Describe the need to reach out for community support with the broken window. And how did the community respond? What’s your reaction to that? Is that a good way to go, in general, for businesses that may suffer a loss?
EM: The reason why I reached out for the window was because of the expense. I wasn’t prepared for that. And I literally pulled the money out of what I had set aside to pay my astronomical BGE bill [more than $3,000] to pay for the window. When I initially filed the claim, I just knew that the insurance was going to cover it. I just thought I had $5 million in coverage. I just had to go through the process, and when I found out that they didn’t [cover it], that was when I was like, ‘Oh, I need help.’
The community definitely showed up. They showed up, pouring positive words into me and coming into the restaurant and supporting my team. Online, DoorDash, GrubHub, even though they take 30%—and it’s too hard to communicate that to the guests all the time, the cut that they take out profits—but people ordered online. They came in. They got to go. And they’re still showing up. I’m grateful for it.
Maybe I’m even a tad bit surprised at how much love I got, but I think that surprise comes from me never having asked for help before. I think it was a good way for me to go. I didn’t want to do a GoFundMe or anything. I really just felt like if I can get people to support the business the way they showed up in an emergency, all the time, I would have the reserve of funds to be able to cover a loss like this on a regular basis.
Because I told them about the window, but I didn’t tell them the ice machine broke, and we had a leak in the ceiling after the window, and the ice machine broke before the window. So there’s always something going on that is a big financial blow for us. But if we could just be busier consistently, we would have more revenue. It’s kind of a double thing though, because we got busier, so then I had to call for help, and now labor went up. But I’m grateful.
BFB: What’s your perception overall of the economic health of Downtown Baltimore?
EM: I think downtown’s going to come up. I don’t think we’re where we need to be. But I think life [is] still, you know, the Gallery not being there, which was like our mall, and Harborplace. I know they’re talking about rebuilding it and doing a lot of work. I think we just need to see it done and bring some life back down here. I think parking is ridiculous, the amount people have to pay. But I think they did bring some college students down here recently. I haven’t necessarily seen so much of them, but I feel like downtown is on its way back up. And I’m optimistic.
