Twins Cafe ready to open again after double disasters

Apr. 30--Lee Anne Barker is looking forward to fully reopening her family restaurant following a major crisis -- for the second time in a year.

The tornado that struck Haileyville on April 30, 2019, severely damaged several businesses in the city, including The Twins Cafe, which shut down for more than a month. Then, like all other restaurants in Oklahoma, the cafe had to shut down again this March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barker's planning on reopening her cafe again, this time on Friday, May 1 -- the first day that Gov. Kevin Stitt is easing statewide COVID-19 restrictions to allow dining-in at restaurants again as the economy begins to reopen.

"I'm ready. I'm excited and my crew is excited," Barker said. "They're ready to get back in the swing of things."

They've had that feeling before.

Barker said it proved difficult for the cafe to bounce back following last year's tornado. It caused major damage to the cafe she owns with her husband, Tracey Barker, on the north side of U.S. Highway 270 at 607 Parkway Ave.

"We were down 33 days with all the repairs," Barker said. "We weren't able to do anything as far as work when all that was going on."

The tornado damaged both the inside and the outside of the cafe.

"It took the roof off," Barker said. "We had water down inside the building." A new exhaust vent hood had to be replaced, along with other damages such as the loss of sheetrock.

What made it even tougher was the cafe had been remodeled the year before.

Barker said she had insurance, but not near enough to cover all the damages. "We were underinsured," she said.

In the tornado's aftermath, Barker did her best to help the cafe's 13 employees, who were unable to work during ongoing repairs.

"We did a bake sale for the employees," she said. "We had a lot of donations, people with big hearts helping us."

Barker said she split the proceeds among the employees at the cafe.

When the Twins Cafe reopened last June, restaurant patrons were ready.

"It didn't take long for people to show they loved us and loved our cooking," Barker recalled.

She said she did not apply for a loan through the Small Business Administration, since she had insurance and some savings. The Federal Emergency Management Association, or FEMA, did help some of her employees, she said.

Although it wasn't easy, Barker started to see progress as they rebuilt after the tornado.

"We opened back up on June 2," she said. "By November, we started feeling we were getting some headway." By the end of November, "We were back where we needed to be."

Barker said 2019 proved a tough year.

"I lost my dad at the beginning of the year, then we had the tornado," she said.

She watched this year as COVID-19 began striking in the United States.

"By February or March, were were taking precautionary measures," Barker said.

March 26 marked the last day The Twins Cafe was fully open, except for carryouts. Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered a shutdown of what he considered all nonessential businesses in counties with at least one positive COVID-19 case, before extending the order to all 77 Oklahoma counties.

Like some other cafes and restaurants in the state, The Twins Cafe worked to stay afloat with carryouts.

"We're doing curbside," Barker said. That's enough to let her know that her customers, including senior citizens and veterans, have missed The Twins Cafe.

"They want that one-on-one communication with us," Barker said. While the curbside service has been helpful, Barker said it ranges from a quarter to a third of what the cafe ordinarily does.

"We're doing day-by-day," she said. Her brother, Rodney Harrison, has been working with her along with a few employees.

Now, Barker is looking forward to reopening. For now, she plans to stay open beginning from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sunday, then resuming regular business hours during weekdays.

She doesn't know what to expect when the cafe reopens, but she's anxious to see what happens.

"We can't wait," said Barker.

Contact James Beaty at [email protected]

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