5 Questions with The Rock’s Michelle Ly
In an effort to get to know more about the people who make Round Rock such a great place to live, I am resurrecting a series I did years ago called “5 Questions With….” As I did in the past, I will be asking a few questions of interesting people of Round Rock – people who work hard behind the scenes, people who strive to make our city great, people who make fun events & places possible in our city, and just cool folks you need to know.
But I wanted to take it a step further and reach out to as many businesses owners in Round Rock as I can. I want to catch up with them to learn how their business is doing under these conditions. And see if & how we can help keep them in businesses. I think you will be happy to hear some of the unique ways that businesses have adapted to the changes or are making plans to offer new products and services once they do open.
What happens when you have not 1 but FOUR businesses that are directly effected by COVID-19? Find out from Michelle Ly how they have managed:
What is your business?
Hall Roofing and Construction (HRC), The Rock Sports Bar, Alcove Cantina, and The Flats Round Rock.
Erik and Michelle left corporate jobs to start up Hall Roofing and Construction. Erik certainly has a passion to build and dream and think outside the box. Erik designed and built The Rock Sports Bar in 2014. We opened our doors for Family Christmas Night 2014.
In 2016, Junior’s closed and after earning the lease on that building, Erik went to work on a new dream. September 2016, Alcove Cantina was opened. We are so proud of the work he did there as the Alcove Lounge has been gaining popularity by being used for small weddings, rehearsal dinners, meetings, campaign parties, holiday parties, birthdays, graduations, retirement parties etc etc. It’s just amazing to be able to utilize a space that has been hidden for so many years.
And finally in 2019, Erik envisioned an outdoor space. It was a concept that not many understood while it was under construction, but since we’ve opened in July 2019, it was clear that Round Rock needed a laid back, relaxing outdoor backyard hang out. And The Flats Round Rock was our most recent open.
Day to day, Erik manages his construction company and projects. Michelle handles the day to day operations of the bars/restaurants. These are our businesses. And we are proud to be a part of a community that we call home. Erik is a Georgetown HS graduate and Michelle is a Round Rock HS graduate and being a part of Downtown Round Rock is a blessing to us.
What is the status of your business now?
Hall Roofing and Construction is open, but we are practicing no contact inspections. It is normally our peak time for all of the businesses. The Rock, Alcove, and The Flats have been closed since March 18th.
What do you miss most about your business?
We miss the community. Being in the service industry, we normally get to see our community. We get to talk to them and lift spirits. We get to take the burden of cooking dinner off of someone. We miss just being in front of people that are there to enjoy life. We miss our work family too. We spend everyday with them and it’s hard to be a support for them when we must stay away.
What are the plans for the future for The Rock Sports Bar, Alcove Cantina & The Flats Round Rock?
We are utilizing this time to focus on improvements for our businesses. We will be focusing on fixing up and cleaning up our locations. We’ve been working on small improvements to the menu as well. We hope that we can come back strong when restrictions are lifted. We hope for that “wow” factor when we re-open. We have started disinfectant and sanitation services to keep the businesses safe once we do re-open. We will be ready when the day comes.
What has been a few of your favorite “at-home” activities during this time?
We have been blessed with extra time with our spunky 3 year old. She’s just at an age where she is absorbing information. We are constantly shocked by her vocabulary and thought process. Although, Easter has come and gone, the expectation to still hide and find eggs with surprises in them will continue to live on through May. We’ve learned that water beads are SO fun, but also should be enjoyed OUTSIDE, not indoors.
With our work family, we’ve discovered more ways to communicate and stay connected since we don’t get to see each other everyday. We’ve emailed. We’ve Zoomed. We’ve started a Facebook group to communicate. We text. We try to make contact weekly just to check in on each other.
Bonus – what’s the first thing you will do once the Stay-at-Home mandate is lifted?
Team outing! I don’t know what yet, but I would love to do something for my team before we get back to the daily grind. We love our jobs. We spend our time making sure others enjoy their time out. But every once in a while, we would to spend time together to build our team!
Other 5 Questions With….
The Yogurt Experience’s Rebecca Darling
Mays Street Boutique’s Ashley Deli
My Party Palace’s Michelle Azuara
Mi Mundo Coffeehouse & Roastery’s Sabin Shrestha
Tammy Kay’s Boutique’s Tammy Munguia
Monster Mini Golf’s Brian & Amy Smith
The Dance Gallery’s Christine Hayes
Huntington Learning Center’s Tanuja Deo
Penfold Theatre Company
Craft & Racked Chris & Sara Freeman
Wildflower Orthodontics
Lifetime Vision Care’s Dr. Jennifer Khanh
Mathnasium of East RR’s Jennifer Faulkner
Paige’s Bakehouse – Paige Perry
The Rock/Alcove Cantina/The Flats’ Michelle Ly
Round Rock Dental Group’s Dr. Eric Hoffman
Love Barre’s Kristin Crawford
Hot Dog Marketing’s Jessica Scanlon
The Mirror & I’s Val Frazee
Renzi’s Tutoring & Guitar’s CJ & Tammy Renzi
If you are a small business who has been effected by the stay-at-home order, we’d love to hear from you to tell your story! Please email me at rebecca@roundtherocktx.com
