Restaurants are some of the hardest hit businesses during these trying times. Between social distancing and Stay-At-Home orders people have not been going out to eat and won’t be able to for the foreseeable future. In a booming tourism town like Orlando that has resulted in a lot of uncertainty for many people.
Mocha Skye is a server at two of Orlando’s hottest LGBTQ eateries — Hamburger Mary’s and Pom Pom’s Teahouse. Pom Pom’s is down to filling takeout and delivery orders. Hamburger Mary’s has closed until further notice.
“[Hamburger Mary’s] didn’t want to put their own workers in danger with what’s going on,” Skye says. She was furloughed, along with the rest of the staff, on March 17. April 1 would have been Skye’s 3-year mark at Mary’s.
Now her sole job is working at Pom Pom’s, where she started working last October, filling takeout orders.
“People came to Pom’s in part because of the atmosphere,” Skye says. “We want to provide that service to our guests and give them the complete experience but now that has been eliminated. That was the heart and soul for me of what we provide to the community. Pom’s isn’t just a restaurant; it’s a safe space for the community.”
While she misses seeing her customers in the restaurant, Skye realizes what she and the crew at Pom Pom’s is doing now is still an essential service.
“Essential workers are the ones who make sure that our community is still up and running,” she says. “Yes, it’s the nurses and the paramedics and the firemen and the police officers; but at the same time, without your grocery store clerk, without your server, without a cook, there are certain needs in our society that just don’t get met.”
Even with losing one job and having the hours cut back on another, Skye still has helping others on her mind.
“To help keep my mind focused and clear, I have been making masks for people,” she says. Skye has been sewing since she was 8 years old and was planning on starting her own business sewing underwear for trans women before the world came to a stop.
She had a collection of fabrics in various colors and patterns as well as a stockpile of elastic that she repurposed to make masks. The masks are also helping Skye to supplement some of the income she has lost because of COVID-19. She sells them for $10, and she does custom orders for $15.
Read about other LGBTQ workers in Central Florida and Tampa Bay who are making a difference in Watermark’s full “Essential Heroes” feature.
For the latest updates about COVID-19 and its impact on the LGBTQ communities in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, Watermark’s frequently updated coverage here.
