New Southern Charm cast member Leva Bonaparte has the pulse of Charleston's economy on her mind as COVID-19 ravages the city, which is known for its tourism industry. Southern Charm is now in its seventh and most dramatic season and faces new challenges, including scandals and the relationship rumors that swirl in Charleston. However, an even larger problem looms.
COVID-19 has reared its ugly head in Charleston, and in episode four, it is starting to take effect. Shep Rose ships out to Hilton Head to spend time with his family. Meanwhile, Craig is finally moving out of Austen's house and into a temporary home, while his house gets treated for asbestos. Craig wants to plan a party but has to cancel because COVID-19 causes a lockdown in South Carolina. Likewise, the dinner party that John Pringle is getting ready for is canceled.
Pretty much everything is canceled, including visiting restaurants and non-essential businesses. Reality star Leva Bonaparte is really feeling the effects of the lockdown. Several of her restaurants, including Republic and Bourbon N' Bubbles, have to suspend dine-in service. Without dine-in service, the profit margins become too slim. Even her vacation rental business suffers as people cancel their long-held reservations in droves. Leva later mentions that there is no way for her restaurants to pay over one hundred employees if there is a shutdown of dine-in service. Leva went over these tough times during an interview on Bravo's Daily Dish podcast. During the interview, Leva lamented, "We were all massacred in this city." She explained that Charleston is a hospitality city, and without tourism, there is little chance for businesses to do well.
However, Leva and her husband Lamar managed to get their businesses through the shutdown by enacting an emergency plan. They switched their restaurants to take-out only and were forced to furlough most of the employees. While they were able to remain open, they were forced to operate with a skeleton crew. So far, they have managed to stay in line with all health and safety protocols, and there haven't been any outbreaks in their establishments.
At this point, it seems like Leva Bonaparte weathered the storm. She has made it to the other side of the shutdown, and her restaurants and businesses have managed to stay afloat, relatively unscathed. She is fortunate, as other establishments around Charleston have faced worse fates. Watch Leva and the rest of the cast as Southern Charm season 7 continues on Bravo.
Source: Daily Dish
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