Closed, system hacked, before Slidell businessman steps up
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The damage done to small businesses from government decisions that forced them to shut down in the first year of COVID will never fully be known.
You don’t have to look beyond Slidell to see the dreams of some small business owners ended with doors closing for good due to the restrictions.
But suffice it to say, a talk with most any small business owner will enlighten you to the hardships every one of them faced to survive, something Wine Garden owner John Hodges can testify to with the best of them.
When Hodges opened the Wine Garden in Olde Towne at 300 Robert St. on January 9, 2018, it was his “dream,” he said, with plans to bring more of an adult restaurant/bar to Slidell that offered live music every night.
“It was the idea I had for a long time. To own a place where we had live music, a great small restaurant, and a relaxing place for adults to have a drink together,” he said. “Two years in we were doing well and were steadily growing the business.”
Then came COVID in early 2020. Governors in many states, including Louisiana, forced businesses to close their doors for over two months, then maintained strict restrictions for many months after that, which curtailed the opportunity to return to normal or make enough money to pay the bills.
Hodges said the curbside business didn’t work for him since his restaurant business was not conducive to work like that, and after trying it for a while and not making any profit, he had to stop.
“Then they let us open at 25 percent capacity, then 50 percent,” he said. “But they didn’t seem to care that it was not much help. You have to fully staff the place to open, but then you are only allowed to have a quarter or half of your customers. Many restaurants can’t make it like that.”
Hodges said he “did a lot of praying and was determined not to give up, but many times I wondered how I could possibly make it.”
For Hodges, it was only the beginning to what would be a story that would get worse.
“I survived through 2020 and hoped to finally get out of it when 2021 started. Then in May my computer was hacked, getting to my checking account and everything we had to operate. It was a nightmare.”
Just when it appeared he might have a chance to survive from the government’s PPP loans to small business, he was approved for the money, but never saw the second installment of nearly $48,000.
“First, I had my entire system hacked, which cost me the money in my checking accounts, and then when I was waiting for the second PPP check, it never showed up. For a long time they kept saying I got it and I owed them the money, so that made things even worse,” he said.
Hodges was eventually able to prove he never got the money, which apparently was either hacked into and stolen, or never was sent out—something he is still not sure of. But at least that one burden of owing $48,000 was off his back.
“When I first got hacked, I tried to figure things out for weeks. When it first happens, you don’t even know where to start, and you take a while to be sure you got hacked. I thought there was some mistake from the bank or something,” he said. “Once again I got behind on all my bills since I had no money to pay much of anything.”
Making matters worse was the fact Hodges leases the building where the Wine Garden operates, where he lives on the second floor with his wife and son.
“If I lost the business, I was also going to lose our home,” he said. “Looking back at it all it was the worst part of life I have ever been through.”
Still struggling to rebound as 2021 moved along, late last year Hodges was ready to throw in the towel, even knowing that his lifelong dream of owning the restaurant, something he had worked years to achieve would end.
“When we were allowed to operate it was still difficult since many people are scared to go out to restaurants. I was struggling so badly, and I didn’t think I would ever make it, so I decided I would give the restaurant away to someone who could make this still work,” he said. “I felt like I had let so many people down, but maybe someone else could finish this dream I had.”
Just about that time Hodges encountered what some people might call an answer from Heaven.
Slidell Councilman Bill Borchert, a local businessman, was always a frequent customer at the Wine Garden and a good friend to Hodges. He was hearing all the tales of what the owner had gone through and ended up being the man to rescue the dream.
“I told Bill the whole story and he wanted to help me. He began checking with the government about the money, tried to work out some kind of small business loan—anything that could help me get through this,” Hodges said. “And in the end, he did. We made a deal that makes him a partner in the Wine Garden and helped me get back on my feet. I’ll never be able to thank him enough.”
Hodges has been up-and-operating for the past few months, once again re-building what was a reputation as one of the excellent restaurants and night spots in Olde Towne. This Friday night he is hosting a night of music from the Ozone Songwriters Showcase, starting at 6:30 that will present six regional songwriters performing live.
“I feel so blessed now,” he said. “I’ve got another chance and it’s exciting to see—it looks like the dream will survive.”