COVID is taking down local businesses. Here’s an Anna Maria Island deli that isn’t giving up

Make no mistake, this is a love story.

It’s a love story between a husband and wife. A love for their children, their customers, the community and for their small business on Anna Maria Island.

But COVID-19 is playing the villain in this particular love story and not necessarily in a direct way.

The story behind Jamie and Scott Mason, owners and operators of Scott’s Deli in Holmes Beach, is just another way the pandemic has affected real lives within small family businesses like theirs. After surviving the pandemic financially, they now face a new challenge because another business did not.

Like any good love story, however, the Mason’s aren’t going to give up. Despite the challenges playing out, they believe in the American dream they have built up since moving to the island in 2015 to open up their first business.

Scott was an executive chef at a country club in the couple’s home state of Kansas when he met his wife, who was working as a registered nurse. They met at the club, began to date and the rest is marital history that has seen the fruit of children who they simply adore.

There was only one problem with their situation at the time, as successful as they were.

“We were sitting back and realizing that we don’t get to see each other much,” Scott said. “We don’t get to see our family much. Being an executive chef, I’d go in sometimes at 9 in the morning and not get out until 11 or 12 at night. And maybe she was working night shift at the time and she’d go in at 9 and not get off until 7 in the morning. So we weren’t seeing each other at all.”

Scott’s family often vacationed in the area and when they saw a small deli come up for sale.

“We jumped at it,” he said. “It’s always been a lifelong goal to open a sandwich shop in a beach area. So we moved down here with the family to make it work and make our dreams happen and it’s been great. We go home with the kids every night, have dinner with the kids and take them to school every morning.”

If you are a “King of Queens” fan at this point, you already know “Doug’s” dream was to always open a sandwich shop simply because he loved sandwiches and made them the way he liked. Scott’s love for sandwiches runs along a similar path.

“I love sandwiches,” Scott said. “No, I really love sandwiches. We love making people happy by feeding them and that’s the best part of this job and seeing their reactions. We go above and beyond on our sandwiches. It’s not your typical sandwich shop that puts meat and cheese on bread. We do this because we love it and love to see our customers happy. It’s the best feeling when they tell us that it’s the best sandwich they’ve ever had and we get that a lot.”

You don’t have to take Scott’s word for it. Scott’s Deli has 4.5 star reviews on both Yelp and TripAdvisor with hundreds of reviews. Their worst review was a customer thinking it was a New York style deli and was upset the sandwich didn’t come with a pickle.

The COVID-19 pandemic

Things were looking pretty good for the Masons who built up a large following. About a year-and-a-half ago, they moved to a new location inside The Island Coffee Haus at 5350 Gulf Drive when their rent doubled at their previous location where they spent almost five years doing business.

Up until then, the Masons had survived hurricanes, tropical storms and even the devastating red tide event of 2018 that decimated tourism for months. The partnership with the Coffee Haus was a perfect match so the family subleased a space inside.

Then the pandemic hit at the worse possible time for island businesses who make the majority of their annual incomes during the spring tourist season that sees them through the slower winter months. Just as the busy season began, COVID-19 spread. Beaches closed, businesses closed and tourists were unable to make the trek to the island.

“When things got tough and a lot of small businesses weren’t doing great because of COVID, we put in the extra hours, changed our menu and put in the work to succeed, and we did,” Jamie said. “We started to come out on the other end of the pandemic on top.”

So much so, the couple offered to buy out the Coffee Haus’s owner to take over the whole space and continue to sell coffee with their premium sandwiches.

What the couple didn’t know is that the owner of the Coffee Haus didn’t fare as well as they did. The business went under and the owner filed for bankruptcy, catching the Masons and their landlord off guard.

The Masons offered to take over the full lease with their existing landlord, but instead on Feb. 1 they received an email that they had 28 days to vacate. Since they are not the primary lease holders, their sublease with the Coffee Haus was deemed null and void when the owner filed for bankruptcy.

Finding restaurant space on the island is almost impossible, Scott said. Having to find a new space, do all the restaurant conversions and battle the red tape of permitting in 28 days is a whole other level of challenge.

‘Fighting for our lives’

They have found a new space at 6000 Marina Drive, but it’s an old office space and will require a financial obligation they are struggling to overcome.

“We are big believers in the American dream and big believers that you put your nose down and work hard,” Jamie said. “We’re going to get through this for sure. We have too big of a following, too good of a product and great people and customers that help us out. It’s just such poor timing with small businesses in general that this had to happen.”

It’s been an emotional few weeks for the family. Jamie told her story mostly through a stream of tears and it was enough to bring water to Scott’s eyes to see his beloved wife cry.

“We’re in a spot right now,” Scott said. “It’s like a wall we can’t get over. The pandemic really hurt this industry as everyone knows. It’s not just in Florida. We asked the landlord to at least give us through the end of March because that’s our biggest month and now we won’t have that. We are left fighting for our lives to keep us going. We don’t do anything else. We don’t have other jobs. This is our life.”

That’s when the emotions became too much for Jamie as she tried to explain the family’s situation caused by forces outside of their control.

“It’s tough when you put so much work and energy and thought into a business and have this happen,” she said. “This is what we do. We’ve worked really hard for where we are. It is upsetting that all your hard work can be just taken away because you are not the right fit for what somebody thinks is an appropriate space.”

Scott’s Deli doesn’t just support the Mason family. They employ three full-time employees who the couple refuse to let go through the time-sensitive and financially costly transition.

Financing has become a challenge. Despite living most of his life between Kansas and Florida and being a Kansas State University graduate, Scott is a Canadian citizen. With all the business licensing in his name, he was disqualified from COVID relief funding and even local financing has become an issue due to his citizenship.

There are alternatives, but they are not available within the time frame they need to be in their new space and to cover the costs of needed renovations.

A gofundme page has been established to help keep the business moving forward. As of Friday afternoon, the community has responded to their plight with $3,320 of a $20,000 goal.

This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 12:58 PM.