AUSTIN, Texas — War veteran Josh Eilers is no stranger to challenges, but even he admits the coronavirus outbreak is on a whole different level.

“The military taught me how to overcome adversity but I would have never guessed that I would be up against something so powerful, so devastating,” said Eilers.

Since the spread of coronavirus, life at his business, Ranger Cattle, has been more complicated than usual.

"I spent 10 years building this company, and I put my life savings from the military into it, and it seems like overnight it’s pretty much gone," said Eilers.

City and state officials ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms. The move hurt those like Eilers who are on the front line of the food and service industry.

“With the closing of restaurants, well, that was our main source of income so that essentially just left us in a week, so it’s been devastating to our operation,” said Eilers.

That's why he shifted his business to focus on individual customers as restaurants cancel their orders. The move garnered a lot of interest from people like Brian Gannon. He spent his day off supporting different Texas businesses that are now hurting.

“I’m going out there and buying from local businesses and tipping well and hoping that they make it through this thing so I can eat from them again when it’s normal again,” said Gannon.

As for Eilers, he says he is hopeful customer demand for high-quality meats will be enough to keep his business going long term. 

“I’m riding this wave, and yeah that’s all there is to it, so I just hope that the cowboys stick with me through it because depending on how long this lasts, it could get pretty hard for us, but I’m in it 'til the end,” said Eilers.