The pandemic has wreaked havoc on many small businesses over the last two years and guys like ‘Yogi Da Barber’ are soldiering on.

“I've been cutting hair for almost three years,” said Yogi. "My last barbershop that I worked at went under because of COVID."

As the barber, side manager of Empire Barbershop & Pub, he is hoping to bring a social and vibrant culture to the storefront.

“I came here with the mindset of, this is brand new; we're gonna build it up the foundation in the family here. And that's basically what we're doing here,” Yogi added. “You know, this is something different. No, you don't see a lot of them around in Syracuse.”

It's one part barber shop, one part licensed bar - unfortunately two businesses that have felt the weight of pandemic shutdowns and restrictions. 

“You feel overwhelmed by it, and also cause more conflicts, within the situation,” he said. “Within being in the industry that we're in, you know, it's about going to your clients. It's about making them feel good.”

Going from the big chairs to the tall stools is Marine Corps veteran Anthony Bell, back in his native New York state.

“I got out, I went to Florida for a little bit where I manage a bar and bar attended and cut hair and I moved back up here and I've been working here ever since,” said Bell.

In his relatively short tenure at the shop, he's seen the ebbs and flows of trying to get business back in the door.

“I've definitely seen that like, towards the end of the summer, you know, people were they're coming through, they're having fun, but then a pandemic came back and so a lot of people, they looked like they're getting scared,” he added. “You know, they didn't want to come out as much but seems like ever since the new year, people have been coming out more and more willing to come and have a good time.”

Helping to head up the return of business on the bar side of things is Bill Coughlin. He knows the owner and was drinking at these tables with his wife far before getting asked to clean and manage them.

“We were patrons of the bar when it was open and when COVID closed it down,” he said. “You know, we understood but when he wanted to reopen, he approached me and asked me if I'd be if I'd be interested in managing the place.”

And while he loves his new job, the efforts to stay open along with plenty of also suffering competition downtown are endless.

“We've got to try to find a way to get people downtown I think all the bars down here are struggling in the restaurants as well to get people downtown again, in the midst of a pandemic and we're just a small cog,” Coughlin added. “It takes a while to build that customer base back up that you lost for a month or a year and a half, but people are discovering us and they're coming back and we'll see what the next few months hold."