COMFORT, Texas – In the small communities upended by the July 4 floods, recovery is slow — and not just because of the floodwaters.
People who would normally visit those towns are choosing to give them space, but instead, it’s causing businesses to suffer.
“They didn’t wanna get in the way, so they stopped,” said Amy Pankratz, owner of Brene’s Kitchen in Comfort.
When the flood hit, the community became the priority.
“We were here from three and four o’clock in the morning until midnight just making meals for all the first responders,” Pankratz said.
But when that ended, business did not pick up as the community had hoped. Visitors stopped coming to visit the community.
“They feel like they are going to be a bother, so they kind of want to take a step back, and I don’t want people to think that,” Pankratz said.
She gave an example, recalling a couple who canceled their wedding in Comfort.
“I was like, ‘Don’t do that. The bed and breakfast that you had reserved, the caterer that you have reserved, those people need you,’” Pankratz said.
Repercussions of fewer visitors
Without a steady flow of customers, many businesses have had to close multiple days of the week.
“We have cut hours as far as like employees,” Pankratz said.
Some have had to fully lay off employees, even businesses with only four or five workers.
“Saving on that labor, saving on the electricity and that, you know, all the little things that come with just opening, unlocking your door is a lot,” Pankratz said.
“What’s getting harder and harder is to justify staying open,” said Charlie Hueber, executive director of the Comfort Chamber of Commerce.
Where’s the funding going?
Hueber said the chamber has been “advocating” to see how to get funds to small businesses “as quickly as possible.”
Hueber, who chaired the Flood Task Force for Small Business Relief, confirmed that some businesses have received direct assistance from multiple sources. Still, the Comfort Chamber of Commerce has not yet received the intended amount to distribute to its community members.
As an unincorporated community in Kendall County, Comfort does not have its own government or dedicated staff to handle grant applications.
“There’s three part-time employees. We don’t have anyone designated that’s going and chasing those funds for our community without a city government,” Hueber said. “We’re still now trying to catch up. I mean, there are still applications I’m trying to fill out just for a few of our folks.”
Hueber is working with the state and nearby chambers of commerce, which will eventually funnel money to Comfort’s chamber.
Though Comfort is in Kendall County, Hueber said Kerr County and Kerrville are the larger entities and have said they will offer Comfort help as well.
During a Thursday press conference, West Kerr County Chamber of Commerce president Bobby Templeton said they are still assessing how to distribute money to the smaller chambers of commerce, but that they plan to help.
“If somebody comes in and they’re suffering, we want to help them,” Templeton said.
Templeton is seeing the same problem across multiple counties affected by the floods.
“We are seeing small businesses really struggle. For example, we have several of our community members who clean houses, and pretty much all of their clientele is in the affected area, so they have no business,” he said.
In smaller unincorporated communities such as Comfort, Center Point, Ingram and Hunt, the need is now the same: more traffic.
How to help
A family from Boerne said they felt helpless watching their Hill Country neighbors suffer, so showing up to businesses to spend money was their answer.
“Even if they didn’t lose anything, everybody’s affected in the community, and it’s important to give back,” said Daniel Gambino as he sat at Brene’s Kitchen. “You just make conscious decisions to help the community in any way, and if it’s just buying locally, that’s one small way to do it.”
Pankratz encouraged others to visit local restaurants, hotels, bed and breakfasts and bars.
“Keep coming out ... there’s a little bar downtown. It’s so fun, they have live music,” she added.
While word of mouth is crucial, Hueber and the chamber are working on a more prominent platform to convey their message.
“We have got a small business community organization that’s working on Visit Comfort Texas. We don’t have a visitor center. We don’t receive hot tax money,” Hueber said. “So this is a grounds route effort just from our small businesses going, how do we get people to come and see what we’re all about and that we’re not closed.”
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