DEER TRAIL, Colo. — There are only two restaurants in Deer Trail, a small town that sits about an hour east of downtown Denver.
Carmella Meyer moved to Colorado from Ohio and opened Maw's Subs N Stuff. It was her dream to open a restaurant. The grand opening was only a couple of weeks before Gov. Jared Polis ordered sweeping COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020.
"The tables were full all the time. We were jamming," Meyer said. "Then COVID hit. We went from making $900 a day to $200 a day."
Now, Meyer isn't sure how much time she has left before closing the doors of her dream for good.
"It is devastating is what it is," Meyer explained with tears running down her cheeks. "There are days when I find it hard to function because I did wrap everything I had up into this place.”
Town regulars are keeping Meyer afloat, for now. They're trying to support her as best they can.
"We have to support the people of our town," said customer Pam Steehler. "Losing this place would be a big loss for us. It's not just the good food. The people are so good. They are so kind."
Fortunately, Meyer's landlord let her skip rent for a month in an effort to keep the doors open. Meyer doesn't know what the future holds after that. She's waiting for normalcy to return sooner than later.
"What I need is to be able to open my tables," Meyer said. "People call us and tell us that Deer Trail is too far to come and sit in your car.”
Right now, Meyer is hopeful she can get just enough business for the next few months to be able to keep serving her food.
"It’s a miracle I think that we’ve managed to survive for 11 months," Meyer said. "Right now, we’re to the point where we can’t survive without some help.”
Maw's Subs N Stuff is located at 604 1st Ave. in Deer Trail.