We’re all vaguely aware of the impact of the pandemic on local businesses. Some businesses have closed entirely, others are staggering. Efforts to support local independent shops and restaurants have been heartfelt and somewhat effective.
Today, though, our Melissa Elsmo offers insights into one Forest Park business owner’s intense and emotional effort to radically remake his business in a valiant/desperate effort to save it and to hold his life together.
The story of Mark Calahan makes very real the consequences of a pandemic on a small business and on the life of a person fully wrapped up in that business. Calahan is the owner of what has been Amy’s Winehouse, a lovely restaurant on Roosevelt Road. With business flattened, costly liquor license renewals pending, personal challenges bound up in the business, Calahan is retooling into Power Play Café, a hockey-themed coffee shop. He hopes to be back in business by Oct. 1.
Entrepreneurs are brave, bold, foolhardy, and the lifeblood of small towns like Forest Park. We’re hoping that Power Play Café is just the ticket to keep this entrepreneur whole and happy.
