Against all odds: Columbus restaurant survives fire, coronavirus pandemic

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s been a tough few months for small business owners everywhere thanks to the Coronavirus, but for Doug Pellum, owner of Zachary’s Restaurant in Columbus, it’s been a nightmare.

Today marks one year since a kitchen fire destroyed the structure.

After the fire, it took construction crews 4 months to put things back together.

Pellum said things were finally getting back on track… Until now.

“Everything was going great until the Coronavirus hit… We’re ready to get back open now, as soon as the state lets us do that. It was very devastating. The fire set us back. During the rebuild, we learned a lot about our community. We learned a lot about our employees, how great they are, how great the community is, and we’re going to learn the same thing when we reopen from the Coronavirus,” said Pellum.

Zach’s will reopen on Tuesday, May the 5th for takeout.

Employees will use the patio windows to serve food.

They will be required to wear a mask and gloves at all times.

Employees will also be screened before coming into work.

No one with a temperature above 99 degrees will be allowed to work.