Nearly two weeks after the staff at Dixie Cafe learned the restaurant chain planned to close nationwide, eight employees found jobs at the newly opened SQZBX Brewery & Pizza Joint.
"I was listening to NPR and heard that the Dixie Cafe was closing every one of their locations. I had this realization that there was an entire restaurant staff without jobs and I had an entire restaurant without a staff," SQZBX owner Cheryl Roorda said Tuesday.
Corporate representatives from Dixie Cafe gave former employees just two days' notice before the restaurant permanently shut its doors on Dec 6. Many of the employees had worked at the restaurant since it opened.
Barbara Cordero worked at Dixie Cafe for 17 years, and her husband acted as the restaurant's general manager. The entirety of their household income came from Dixie Cafe.
"It took me a couple of days to even grasp that we were closing. It wasn't like we were not doing any business; we were busy up until the last day," Cordero said.
Shortly after the restaurant closed, Cordero's husband learned SQZBX was interested in the possibility of hiring some of the cafe's former staff. His wife and seven other former Dixie Cafe employees were hired at SQZBX a short time later.
Roorda and her husband, Zac Smith, opened the doors on their pizza pub and microbrewery on Monday after spending over a year renovating the space. The restaurant sits right next door to KUHS, the community radio station managed by the couple.
"It was really crazy because the entire situation just happened so fast. When the community heard about the closing former employees received an outpouring of support," Kenny Reynolds said.
Both Reynolds and his wife spent a number of years working at Dixie Cafe. Now, his years of experience have landed him in the kitchen at SQZBX, learning to make pizzas.
"I don't know why Dixie Cafe went out of business, but it sure wasn't for a lack of good staff in Hot Springs," Smith said.
"It was such a relief to have an opening day where your kitchen staff is fully plug and play. The kitchen staff brought a lot of knowledge with them, and it has made getting this off the ground that much easier," he said.
Many of the new employees did not need to go through a training session, Roorda said. The waitstaff mainly consists of seasoned veterans with years of experience tied into their aprons.
"These guys are helping us turn dough into dough, and we are so thankful to have them working with us," Roorda said.
Local on 12/20/2017