‘An unfamiliar position in an unfamiliar time’
Business owner begins new venture on Wabash Avenue, despite pandemic.
It could be argued that the end of December 2020 into the start of January 2021 was one of the most highly anticipated “New Year’s” calendar flips. 2020 was a harsh reminder of how those “things you can’t control” can humble you. Some watched the ball drop in front of a socially distanced crowd in New York that night and joined those on television in hoping 2021 would bring back what may have been taken for granted before. Blake Cesinger and his wife, Hannah, who have been married since August 2018, were among those filled with hope for the new year.
The uncertainty around the virus brought a widespread panic, and it was reflected in the stock market during March of 2020 with the S&P 500’s sharp decline in overall value. With the pandemic forcing their hand, businesses began to make various cuts in spending — which meant the closure of stores, laying off employees, etc. Covid’s impact on unemployment has been substantial — leaving tens of millions without work.
A native of Terre Haute, Blake Cesinger had been laid off from his job working for an excavation contractor in the late months of 2020. Just a few months later in mid-January of 2021, Blake was signing the paperwork to become the new owner of Roly Poly on Wabash Ave.
“It was tough at first,” said Cesinger. “The news was hard to take in, but I had no choice but to pull myself up. That’s all you can do in this life; you just gotta keep going and keep trying to focus on doing the best you can, and not worry about what you can’t control.”
Hannah, an Occupational Therapist at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, recalls how difficult that period was for them.
“We were just doing our best at that time to stay calm about things. Thankfully I was still getting hours at the hospital, but it was still hard — harder than it should’ve been for sure.”
Rewind to 12 months ago: Physical businesses have been completely shut down for a little over a month. The Covid-19 pandemic was spreading like capillary action throughout the United States; a slow but steady takeover that would plague physical businesses and cause financial nightmares for months to come.
Wabash Avenue in Terre Haute, Indiana, was no exception. This particular year to come, Wabash Avenue would not play host to the Homecoming parade or The Walk at Indiana State University, which have been annual traditions. Wabash Avenue would not host the annual Blues Fest, in a time where it may have needed to sing the blues most. For the first time in a long time, Wabash Avenue would be alone — without the comfort of the weekday lunch hour crowds.
In normal times, the two-way street can be found brimming at capacity at midday. The law firms, apartment buildings, banks, and most of downtown funnel into the food venues that are often just a short walk away on Wabash. This one street has seen some of the biggest crowd gatherings in Terre Haute for over a century, forming lasting memories across generations. But that would not have been apparent just one year ago.
“I bought Roly Poly on January 19th, 2021,” Cesinger said, dropping a hot-pressed sandwich onto a table in the small store on Wabash Ave. “I felt like I could see a decline in Covid coming. I’d been following the news on vaccines, and for a while there the case numbers had been shootin’ down — so I felt like it could be a good investment and I decided to make a go of it,” said Cesinger.
People searching for hope in this tough pandemic era, there it is: Recently laid off Cesinger finds himself in a completely new position on a street looking to reclaim its pre-pandemic glory — Wabash Avenue.
“I was a little bit shocked at first, like about the whole buying a restaurant thing. I was not expecting it, but he seemed determined that it was the right thing to do. He’s been caring a lot about it and wanting to make sure he’s got a good store,” said Hannah Cesinger. “It’s working out so far, and hopefully business will only get better if the pandemic ends soon.”
“I’ve never been an owner before,” said Blake Cesinger. “But you know, my father’s been a good businessman the whole time I’ve been growing up; so, it gave me a little added confidence knowing that it’s in the blood. I know the customer is always right, and some good customer service can go a long way. That’s one of those things I learned from my dad, the customer’s always right,” said Cesinger. “As far as my management style around the store, I don’t like any of my employees bored. I try to keep ’em busy but at the same time I try to connect with them and keep things relaxed a little, because its always best to work in a comfortable atmosphere I think.”
Though unfamiliar with his new position as an owner, Cesinger enjoyed talking about his previous stint at Roly Poly where, as a delivery driver, he became familiar with the man who sold him the store: Frank Contreras. The two of them enjoyed plenty of good business during those ever-fruitful lunch hours on Wabash Street.
“I enjoyed working here back in the day. That was about six years ago, I was a delivery driver at Roly for about 5 months until I moved to Indy for a couple years. When I contacted Frank about making the purchase it was good to catch up a little. I think working here before kinda gave me that little extra confidence I needed to take on ownership,” said Cesinger.
Cesinger woke up on March 19, 2021, two months into his new life being an owner, quickly reaching for his phone to snooze the alarm he had set for 6:30am. For about 15 minutes, Cesinger scrolled on his phone like any other morning before rolling out of bed to let the couple’s two dogs, Precious and Dozer, outside for some morning play while he brushed his teeth. He then fed the dogs their breakfast while getting dressed and grabbing a quick bite for himself.
Having just parked his red Kia a few minutes before 8 a.m., Cesinger is standing in front of the door of Roly Poly with the master key in hand. As he turns the lock, he takes one more good look at the day settling in over Wabash Street and downtown Terre Haute, and pushes open one of the double doors. An old rusty bell chimes against the frame and throws a slight echo around the empty store as the door pulls itself shut. From there Cesinger begins his morning preparations to ensure a smooth day, which consists of preparing soups, meats, and setting up the grill.
“We usually get a pretty strong rush in here starting around 11:30 to around 2,” said Cesinger. Usually that will include one of the store’s regulars, Robin. “She’s been coming in during lunch since the store opened from what I heard, and she always gets he same thing: it’s a chicken with Swiss, plain and hot-pressed. We’ve been giving it to her for the same price ever since she started coming in, so she gets a little bit of a special deal on it. This hot press and I have served her many times already even since I started here.”
She had just come by earlier that day.
Cesinger said he recently had a family of customers that told him they drove all the way from St. Louis just for some sandwiches from Roly Poly, and that they were planning to head right back after they picked up their order. Such dedication could serve as hope to many people, not just business owners — a sign that people are becoming more comfortable with going out and traveling a little bit again.
Though things are not completely re-opened and “back to normal” yet, Cesinger is even more confident now about the decline in Covid, and for that matter, the resurgence of Wabash than he was just a handful of months ago when he bought the restaurant.
“Those strong lunch hours are what keep us open right now,” said Cesinger. “We get a lot of people coming in dressed up a bit more, so I think they’re coming from all the law firms and the banks around here. It’s good for business to be nearby during their lunch hour, I think it’s convenient for them, and I do my best to keep them coming back. The weekends here are pretty slow, so we really enjoy and kinda need this business (during lunch).”
After the lunch rush, Cesinger and his employees gather themselves a little bit while cleaning up some of the food or sauces that may have gotten loose during the sandwich making frenzy. The chip shelves are left half empty, with a bag or two laying on its side. There is a straw wrapper and some misplaced lids on the counter by the drink station, and all tables are occupied — either by food scraps or some leftover stragglers from the rush. One table hosts a conversation between two suited gentlemen in their late 20s or early 30s, reminiscing on their days as student basketball players. At another table, two ladies finish up their meal and chime the bell on the double doors as they walk out onto Wabash.
As Cesinger and the employees of Roly Poly finish up cleaning after the lunch rush, Cesinger makes a few cuts from the staffing to accommodate for the slower hours to come. From there, Cesinger spends his free time getting a head start on his afternoon preparations, with things like preparing vegetables for the next day, cheeses and sauces, and then finally, cleaning the grill. By the time the grill is cleaned, most of the store is about ready to close.
The store closes for business at 7 p.m. during COVID, but Cesinger is not locking the doors back up until a few minutes before 8 p.m. From there, he gets in his car, turns out onto Wabash and starts home where he looks forward to seeing his Hannah.
“I’m in kind of an unfamiliar position at an unfamiliar time, you know,” said Cesinger. “I’ve never been an owner before, and I’ve also never been through a pandemic. I don’t know when this thing will all come to an end, but I know even since I was a child that Wabash has always been a busy street. A lot happens around here, so I just hope that it will return to being that way — and I think it will, it already has a little bit, because business has been a little better than I thought it would be when I bought the store. I’m sure it’ll continue to be good business when all the tradition can come back to Wabash after the pandemic is finally over.”
