Putnam Inn coping with loss of buffet, catering business

Able to smile despite the circumstances Indiana restaurants find themselves in, Whitney Hutcheson, daughter of Putnam Inn owners Rhonda and Chris Brotherton, has a little fun while delivering meals for the restaurant. Indiana restaurants like Putnam Inn can offer only delivery or take out until at least April 1 due to coronavirus restrictions imposed by the governor.

Courtesy photo

This is the first in a series of articles on how local businesses are currently coping with the coronavirus and its related issues.

When you have a family-owned restaurant that relies on its buffet and catering for a great majority of its business, the governor’s edict that all eateries be limited to carry-out or delivery until at least April 1 has major ramifications.

“We’re rolling with the punches every day,” Putnam Inn owner Rhonda Brotherton said Thursday.

Putnam Inn on North Jackson Street in Greencastle is open 11-2 and 4-7 p.m. daily, offering a full menu for carry-out and delivery while supplies last.

“So far we’ve had a lot of support from the community,” Brotherton added.

Besides losing the buffet and bar business, Putnam Inn Catering has had “lots of catering business canceled,” Brotherton said.

“Unfortunately we’ve had to lay off our employees for the time being. It’s kind of a bummer,” she added, relating that family members in the Putnam Inn cast have been keeping things going.

The governor order presently would allow restaurants to reopen on April 1.

“But all we know is what you know, what’s in the news,” Brotherton said. “The powers-that-be aren’t letting us know anything more.”