Honkers Pub and Eatery awarded $10K grant to help business recover from pandemic

Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says reviewing the applications was both heartbreaking and inspiring.

“We saw how seriously small businesses across Canada have been hurt by the pandemic, but we also saw how determined these entrepreneurs are to preserve their employees’ jobs and serve their customers and communities.”

In terms of Honker’s Pub, Vanden Hoek noted, “We initially said we could handle it if we got to 50 per cent but, what happens if we get over 50 per cent?”

The business actually dropped by 63 per cent in the three crucial months of COVID.

“We opened back up on May 14 – trying to do the dine-in and we thought there would be a boom – but, there wasn’t, so we had to pivot again, to try to invocate ourselves to come up with different things that we could do. However, when they announced that in stage-2, the pubs and lounges could not have live music anymore – it was kinda like doing a two-step and every day it was a new day – not just with us, but with a lot of different businesses.”

“Now, we’re waiting for stage-3, to have our live music and open mic.”

Vanden Hoek says there were a number of criteria to meet, in order to be considered for the grant.

“We had to lay off staff and that was a difficult time, because as an owner, I felt so defeated – I could always make things happen, so when things would go crashing down, there was always a chance to get up and get going again, but COVID just defeated us and we thought we were done.”

“Another criteria, was giving back to the community and Honkers has always given back to the community, from the inception 23 years ago, every event we’ve had, we’ve always donated back to charity, and even during the COVID crisis, we still helped out the HALO air ambulance – doing a poutine fund raiser and also the food banks, and helping out by buying aprons from another local business which needed support.”

When Vanden Hoek began to hire employees back, she found some chose not to return. When asked if the CERB payment from the government might be keeping those employees from returning, the answer was “Yes.”

The Honkers’ owner explained what she would be doing with the $10,000 grant.

We used to be open for six days, and with the lack of staff and customers, we were only able to open for 4 days…wednesday through Saturday. But, now with the $10,000, we started hiring more staff and hope we can open for six days.”

“Before, we were on thin ice, because we don’t make huge margins in the hospitality industry, so you really have to be on top of your game. With our meeting and private rooms, when covid hit, we had 21 cancellations in two hours that included weddings, meetings and celebrations. Now, with the money, we feel it’s going to give us a little bit more life, to hang on, keep going and prove that we can do this.”

Vanden Hoek is very grateful for the grant an says, “If I could have, I wish all 1100 of those people who participated for the grant, could have received something – that would have made my heart smile.”

She encourages other businesses in similar positions to just keep networking and keep spreading the good will.”

“I told my accountant to pass on the information about the grant I applied for. Yes they were going to be my competition but, there’s a lot people who need the help and I would just love to see Lethbridge get back on its feet again.”

by Dori Modney

Honkers Pub and Eatery awarded $10K grant to help business recover from pandemic

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