Of all the industries that we’ve heard about having a hard time, few have had more tragic stories than the restaurant business.

We’ve reported on cases in which someone put their life savings into their dream of opening a restaurant, only to find the pandemic claimed it as one of its casualties during the mandated shutdown.

“17 percent of restaurants – a hundred thousand restaurants – have closed, permanently,” said Algenon Cash, whose own restaurant, Zesto Burgers and Ice Cream on New Walkertown Road in Winston-Salem, is closed, but he hopes that is only temporary.

Cash understands the government is doing what it thinks is best.

“In the fog of war, you’re making decisions that you’re hoping will keep people safe and I think Governor Cooper did so,” he said.

But the angst and anxiety are real. Katie Tanner is a hairstylist in Reidsville. And she’s come to get worried at a certain time, each week, when she knows announcements are likely to be made.

“I have some frustrations because his decisions directly affect me,” Tanner. “I get that angst every time he comes on, like Tuesday at 3:00, I’m like, ‘Oh, God, are we going to get shut down?’”

See what it’s like for these entrepreneurs in this Project 2021 Report.