COLUMBIA, IL (KMOX) - "We just kind of show up every day. We make our coffee. Make our food and we thank everybody that is able to come out."
That is how Caleb Wolz describes his mindset as he navigates his Proving Grounds Cafe in Columbia through the government-mandated shutdown of his restaurant's dining room.
"The biggest part," he says, "is we had to let go of our staff for the time being. So, it's just me, (his partner) Paige Hewett and my sister and we're all just working for free."
With the 11 employees on hiatus, Caleb, Pagie and Millie have had to figure out how to provide curb service, something they hadn't done before.
Despite the challenges, Wolz says things are going better than expected.
"The community has been really good about making a point to come out and help. It's not easy on anybody. So, we can see everybody wants to do what they can. The biggest question on everybody's mind is how long can they keep it up?"
He says the next two weeks will tell us a lot.
"Much more lockdowns or more people who aren't either working at home or going to some sort of job means less people getting out or making any form of income they can distribute amongst the community. The stricter that gets will determine if we'll continue to tread water."