TYLER, Texas — Many businesses have felt the pressure amid COVID-19 restrictions.
"It was pretty rough I'm not going to lie to you," Jana Wampler, co-owner of Dog Tags - Restaurant and Taproom in Tyler, said.
Wampler and her husband opened Dog Tag in April during the early stages of the pandemic.
"Just dealing with everything, trying to figure out how much of a truck order can we order," she said. "How much money can we put into this because if can't open and sell the food it's just going to go bad."
Wampler admits it was a difficult time opening their doors and dealing with the COVID-19 restrictions of how many customers the restaurant can hold at a single time.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services, effective June 29, 2020, restaurants may operate for dine-in service up to 50% of the total listed occupancy inside the restaurant; outdoor dining is not subject to an occupancy limit.
"The only thing is difficult is controlling the numbers whenever it's going to 25%, 50%, 75%, 'no wait just kidding, we're going to shut it down again,' now we're back to 50%," she said. "We see this spike in sales and everybody is coming up here and everybody is excited to get out and the governor makes another announcement and it's dead in here again because everyone is scared to go out and get something to eat."
Despite the roller coaster of restrictions and sales Wampler remains optimistic.
Her restaurants holds a special place in her heart, and the brand is unique to her family.
"If you come in I will tell you our entire menu is all military slang," she said. "My husband is full-time in the military right now and a lot of [our] family members are in the military and that's why we call it Dog Tags."
Wampler says no matter the unpredictability the coronavirus brings they're determined to succeed.
"There was never a doubt in my mind we shouldn't be doing this because of everything going on," she said. "So I think that if you have heart and passion and you're determined, your goals will happen."