Luis Miron
- Dec 1, 2020
- 2 min read

Small businesses continue to adjust during the pandemic

Updated: Dec 15, 2020

East Los Angeles, CA - The Coronavirus pandemic keeps bringing new obstacles to small business owners. Tamales Lilliana’s is an award-winning family-owned restaurant in East Los Angeles known for their famous tamales that have created a large customer following over the last three decades. Juan Santoyo founder and the owner of the restaurant had to adjust his business to the changing protocols implemented by Los Angeles County.

"Right now there are no profits, once this is over it will be a whole different situation," said Santoyo. "At the moment thanks to god, we are keeping the business open with the small sales we are doing."

Outside view of Tamales Lilliana's in East Los Angeles. (Credit, Luis Miron)

When the city went on lockdown Tamales Liliana’s had to shut down for more than a month, leaving over thirty employees unemployed. Despite all the losses Santoyo has been able to keep 90% of his staff employed after reopening. Longtime employee, Ignacio Bautista talked about how he has been affected by the pandemic.

"When we reopened during the pandemic, we were only working 4 to 5 hours a day about 3 times a week reducing our income to half," said Santoyo.

The fourth quarter is a key time for many industries and companies of all sizes. Some retailers typically expect to make as much as half their annual revenue during the holiday shopping season, as do many of their suppliers. Any business connected with holiday parties and celebrations also has high hopes for the October-December period.

Santoyo has been able to keep his business afloat thanks to take-out service and investing in patio seating. Now with the holiday season coming, which is the restaurant's busiest time of the year, he plans to save accordingly for the future hard times.

Owner and staff members supporting each other during a take out rush. (Credit, Luis Miron)

San Gabriel resident Donald Lu talks about why it is important to support small businesses during the hard times the coronavirus has brought.

"It is important to support the local economy, small businesses are the backbone of the community," said Lu.

Restaurants face a difficult time as state and local governments limit the number of people they can serve. The impact of the social distancing can be seen in sales figures — the National Restaurant Association reported that 70% of restaurants suffered a drop in revenue during August from a year earlier.

Thanks to his life savings, hard work, and resilience Santoyo continuous to adjust and overcome the many challenges COVID-19 keeps bringing. He knows that he is not out of the woods yet and is preparing for the harsh times that can come in the last quarter of the year.