Speaking Startup: A pandemic pivot from dogs to wine

It's no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought extreme difficulties for bars and restaurants. More than 110,000 of those businesses across the U.S. shuttered either permanently or temporarily last year, according to the National Restaurant Association. Still, amid widespread closures resulting from the pandemic, some business owners have gotten bars and restaurants off the ground over the last year-plus. The latest episode of the Speaking Startup podcast looks at two such businesses. First, in a new installment from our Outstate project on entrepreneurs in small-town Missouri, we hear from Kirksville business owner Laci Cook. She made an usual business pivot during the pandemic, selling her pet grooming business and opening a wine bar. Then, we visit with Sid Panchal, owner of vegan Indian restaurant Bombay Food Junkies in St. Louis. Panchal followed a similar trajectory to many food service businesses, starting as a food truck before establishing a brick-and-mortar location in early 2020.