NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — COVID-19 has hit many restaurants hard even forcing some to close their doors for good, but somehow it hasn’t stopped others from opening their businesses during the pandemic.
Honest Restaurant along Thompson lane opened a few weeks ago with it’s famous Indian, vegetarian street vendor style dishes.
Pankaj Patel always had dreams to open his own restaurant. He says it took a year of hard work and determination; so he and his team say they weren’t going to let a pandemic get in their way.
Patel says the dream wouldn't be possible without chef Vasisht Ramasubramanian.
"There’s no turning back here, we invested so much time and effort and money so there’s definitely no looking back, we just have to push through," said Ramasubramanian.
Chef Ramasubramanian says there are times when they wondered if they made the right decision.
"It happens everyday especially when we don’t get that much business, you’re like what’s happening," he said.
They say some days are really slow but they’re hopeful.
Honest isn’t the only new business that as popped up during the pandemic in Nashville. The Davidson County Clerk’s office says 3,167 people filed for a business license in 2019 from March 23 through September 8. During that same time this year, nearly 2,972 hundred new business applications have been made so far.
"Thankfully our community has been very supported, this weekend was pretty busy. We practiced social distancing. We did all the safety precautions. We did everything the CDC guided us to do," said Ramasubramanian.
This team says they’re not going to let a pandemic or disaster tear through their dreams of serving the community.
"During a pandemic, if you’re able to survive this you can survive anything," said Ramasubramanian.
Their advice to other business owners who are worried about opening during a pandemic is to just go with your heart.
