- Tuba Baking Co. owners Valerie and Drew Rath say winter months bring steep drops in foot traffic and sales, worsened by parenting demands and cold weather.
- Local restaurants increasingly turn to social media for support, as several Northern Kentucky eateries closed last winter amid rising costs and unsustainable operations.
- A 2013 Small Business Institute Journal study confirms winter as the annual “slow phase” for small businesses, aligning with the Raths’ experience.
Valerie and Drew Rath, co-owners of Tuba Baking Company in Dayton, found that slowdowns in business can hurt more when you’re juggling the responsibilities of being a parent while running a small business.
Unfortunately for the Raths, business slowdowns are an annual occurrence during the holiday season. With three young children at home, coupled with the challenge of keeping their business afloat during the winter, the Raths are experiencing the pressure many mom-and-pop restaurants face during the winter.
“It’s definitely stressful,” Valerie explained. “We’ve got three young kids. Anybody that’s doing this, unless you’ve got big backers or something–we’re not making a lot of money doing this. This is very much because we love to do it.”
In early December, the Raths took to Facebook to encourage the community to come in and support the business. Other restaurants in Northern Kentucky have also turned to social media, encouraging their communities to visit during the slow winter months. Notable examples include Libby’s Southern Comfort in Covington and Tickle Pickle in Fort Thomas.
Valerie said that their call to action received positive feedback, as the strong community ties among Dayton’s businesses and residents temporarily bolstered foot traffic. Nevertheless, overall sales continue to slump.
“We definitely, with the colder weather, have seen business slowing down,” she said. “Our sales are down, for sure. I can see it. When I’m ordering beer, my beer order drops dramatically. We definitely, definitely are seeing slower sales.”
According to Valerie, December and February are the two months that are toughest for business, each for different reasons. She explained that in December, people typically save money for holiday gifts, opting to set aside disposable income rather than spending on restaurants.
The colder weather also has a noticeable impact on foot traffic, Valerie said, as people are less inclined to walk or drive to the restaurant as temperatures drop. She primarily attributed the dip in sales for February to frigid temperatures.
Tickle Pickle owner Lea Dickman has similarly noticed her business usually experiences a slowdown during the holiday season.
“Between Thanksgiving and the second week of January is our slower time,” she said. “We’ve been very fortunate, and we still have good business. It’s just slower than our normal business.”
Even with slumping sales, some restaurants are able to grit through the winter slowdown. However, some restaurant owners decide to pull the plug altogether, pinched by declining sales and the overhead costs of running the business.
Last winter, numerous high-profile restaurants in Northern Kentucky announced their closures. Covington-based restaurateurs Bill and Morgan Whitlow shared that Opal, a rooftop eatery, was closing, along with Rich’s Proper, located at the corner of Madison and 7th St. in Covington, and Hangry Omar’s, a slider concept housed in a storage container on the lawn of Covington Yard.
Former Cincinnati Bengal Carlos Dunlap’s Honey Uninhibited, previously located at the Covington RiverCenter, also announced its closure last December.
In their Opal closure announcement, the Whitlows cited increased costs as one of the reasons for closing. For Rich’s Proper and Hangry Omar’s, the closures were attributed to their operations no longer being sustainable.
A 2013 study in the Small Business Institute Journal identified an annual slowdown in small business activity during winter. Authors Jeffrey Shields and Joyce Shelleman noted that winter aligns with the “slow phase” of the business cycle, particularly in January, February and March. The research showed this period as statistically the slowest for business performance.
Some of the factors that negatively impact small businesses during the winter months align with what the Raths described, such as cold weather impacting spending behavior.
Drew said that the level of access to outside investor funding also affects the financial sustainability of some mom-and-pop restaurants. According to Drew, some businesses have access to funding that can supplement sales during tough stretches. Other restaurants might lack access to that, as all their profits are reinvested into the business to keep it operational.
“I don’t think a lot of the public really understands that some places like us, it’s just our money–that’s all we got to play with,” he said. “Whatever we’re making, that’s going back into the business, where other places have a little bit deeper pocket, they can reach into when times get hard.”
Despite the situation, the Raths stay optimistic. The Raths are experienced business owners who have endured many winters since founding Tuba Baking Company in 2019. This winter will be no different.
“Anything to keep supporting our local businesses, because we need these to thrive,” she said.