The proprietor of a local bar is doing her best to keep the establishment above water amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Ruthie Edwards, manager of the Bounty Hunter Saloon at 680 East Street is seeking donations of any and all items she can collect and in turn sell them.
The big sale, as she calls it, began Thursday, May 21, and runs through Sunday, May 24.
Edwards noted that trying to keep up with all of the expenditures, including rent and power has been a struggle.
“We are just trying to raise some money to pay our bills here at the bar,” she said. “Times are tough right now for everyone, so we are just trying to make sure that we can still hold on to our bar. I am looking to get anything that would sell. We are reaching out to friends and families, asking for donations of items they may no longer want. Anything would help.”
Safety first
Edwards also said all of the items that she’s collected thus far have been disinfected and sanitized.
“We have been working here around the clock and everything that people have brought in we make sure that it is sprayed down and cleaned properly before we set it out,” she said. “For this event we have tables set up outside and we will have some hot dogs, chips and sodas. We will also have some baked goods and other stuff that we will be selling. People can just come by and drop off the items they want to donate, or they can call me and I can arrange to pick up the items.”
Big party canceled
Additionally, Edwards said she was forced to close down the bar back in March.
“We closed our doors on Saint Patty’s Day,” she said. “The gaming control people came in and shut our machines down. We had a lot of corned beef and cabbage and we were going to have a big party, but they said we had to close.”
Great anticipation
Like other bars in town, Edwards said she has quite a few very loyal customers who are looking forward to the establishment’s reopening.
“Any business that you are in, you will always have loyal customers,” she said. “We are hoping to reopen pretty soon, but we have to wait till the fourth phase of the reopening, from what I’m hearing. It’s going to be a while because they don’t want people sitting at the machines next to each other. Coming up in October we will have been open for seven years, and I have been the manager here for the entire time.”
Come together
Edwards also spoke of the importance of unity during trying times.
“Being a small business and not having the means to get any money, we have to do what we have to do to help each other out, especially all of our small businesses here in town,” she said. “I have done a lot of things for people here in the valley, like donations and fundraisers, where we helped quite a few people here in this town. I have two bike runs a year for the Desert Haven Animal Shelter, and I’m on the board. I help them out as much as I can.I have volunteers and we do what we can for each other. If somebody needs something, we try to help each other out. It’s not just us who is suffering, it’s pretty much the whole world.”
For additional information or to arrange to have donated items picked up, call 775 513-3370.
Monetary donations would also be appreciated, Edwards said.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes