CINCINNATI — Small Business Saturday is an important day for local business owners every year, but it's even more crucial as the pandemic continues on and businesses continue to struggle to stay open. This Saturday, however, one new business was able to open its doors for the first time.
The Creative House of Art and Design, or CHAD, is the newest neighbor in Covington's Mainstrausse neighborhood. Owned by Chuck Beatty and his husband, Chad Turner, the new art supply store and studio sells custom-made items like coasters, jewelry, buttons and other things designed and made by Turner.
"Eventually we're going to be having classes, so we wanted to have art supplies available to the community," said Turner.
The shop also sells pieces from local artists and hopes to hold workshops for kids and adults alike. They also hope to open a full-service bar in the back room, when COVID-19 restrictions allow for it.
"If you can survive now, the future is endless, because we can come up with different creative ways to keep going," said Beatty.
Turner said he focuses on the creative side of the business, designing the logo and creating many items for sale in the shop, while Beatty takes the reins of the business side. They're no strangers to the trade -- they've been selling art at Findlay Market and Art on Vine.
"And what's so great is there’s different retail, there’s different restaurants and there’s different things," said Beatty. "I think what we’re going to do is not compete but we’re going to actually complement the things that they’re doing and work together as a community."
The pair said they realize it's a tricky time to decide to open a business -- recent data from Yelp shows that nearly 100,000 small U.S. businesses have shut down permanently since the coronavirus began. But they're confident they can make this work, pointing out that people could do with a little extra art and beauty in life right now.
"It's challenging, but we have to do it," said Turner. "It's one of those things where I have to be creative. And this was our creative outlet over the last month."
The business will have its grand opening on Tuesday, when the owners plan to announce art classes and a schedule for events in the future.
