WILLISTON, S.C. (NCC News) —The COVID-19 pandemic is a tough time to be a restaurant owner. Many restaurants have had to close their doors or cut back on staff, seating capacity and menu items. Opening a new restaurant in the middle of a pandemic sounds intimidating to most people, but that is exactly what one woman in Williston, South Carolina did.
Starreath Dicks, a medical assistant for the last 18 years, had always dreamed of opening her own restaurant. When she was in high school, she worked at a local restaurant called The Sub Deli. When the restaurant closed she no longer had a place to buy a tasty sub.
“I couldn’t get a good sandwich in my hometown,” Dicks said. “I had to drive 25 miles to get a good sandwich.”
Dicks saved her money to purchase the building and began renovations in May of 2020. She opened her restaurant, The Sandwich Shop, on June 27.
“It was a big family effort,” she said.
Her husband, father, and father-in-law all helped with the renovations and her son and extended family members help prepare the orders.
So far, she and her family have been working 12 hour shifts. Although the long hours are exhausting Dicks knows they are necessary until more staff can be hired. These shifts include extra time spent sanitizing the tables and prepping the homemade goods. One of her main goals is that everything is made fresh.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus has negatively impacted her business by limiting ingredients at the chef supply store.
“The COVID is messing up the beef industry, the turkey, everything dealing with the meats,” Dicks said. “It’s kind of hard to get meats.”
The meat shortages have caused The Sandwich Shop to close early on some days due to running out of products. Despite the closures, Dicks thanks God for the business being successful and always having a line of customers inside.
“I really do give [God] all the credit for what’s going on because of COVID-19,” Dicks said. “For my business to succeed and take off like it is and some people having to close they[sic] doors, I know it wasn’t nobody[sic] but God. We have been blessed since we opened the doors.”
Dicks said she knows God will continue to carry her on a successful path. She is confident that COVID-19 cannot stop her faith and will not prevent her from reaching her next goal of making The Sandwich Shop a chain for many others to enjoy.
