EDITOR'S NOTE: BrewHaHa! gave an incorrect date as to when it plans to reopen its Pike Creek location. They said the date is April 20, not April 27. This article was updated April 17.

Alisa Morkides would love to get back to business as usual.

But, the owner of Delaware's nine BrewHaHa! cafes knows the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything about the restaurant industry and life as we knew it.

"We’re fighting to stay in business, like so many others in our situation," said Morkides, who is slowly reopening some of the cafes that closed on March 17.

Dine-in services at Delaware's more than 1,900 eating and drinking establishments were halted a month ago by Gov. John Carney. No date has been given when services can resume.

Since then, no one has been allowed to cozy up with a cup of coffee next to the fireplaces at Morkides' BrewHaHa! locations in Wilmington's Trolley Square and Greenville or grab a seat and scroll through websites on a laptop at the Pike Creek site.

In Delaware, and across the country, it's a dire situation for independent restaurant operators struggling to make ends meet on just takeout and delivery services.

Restaurants and employees are feeling the catastrophic effect, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Since March 1, the industry has lost more than 3 million jobs and $25 billion in sales, and roughly 50% of restaurant operators anticipate having to lay off more people in April, the organization says.

Analysts have estimated that 75% of the independent restaurants that have been closed might not make a comeback.

So far, Morkides has been bucking the trend and trying her best to carry on at the chain of cafes she founded in 1993.

Some of her BrewHaHa! cafes reopened two weeks after March 17 and are now offering takeout only. New hours are coming soon at the Greenville location.

Her cafe at 222 Delaware Ave. in downtown Wilmington has service from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the Greenville location in Powder Mill Square off Kennett Pike is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Saturday and Sunday brunch.

The Trolley Square location at 1400 N. Du Pont St. is not opened, but Morkides' other company Brandywine Coffee Roasters is still roasting coffee there.

She says they are selling "a lot of wholesale coffee, which is helping to pay the bills."

Morkides plans to open the Trolley Square BrewHaHa! cafe in the coming weeks.

Starting Monday, April 20, Morkides will adjust the Greenville cafe's hours and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

She also has scheduled the café at Pike Creek to start daily service again from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. also beginning on Monday.

Morkides says she hopes to continue to reopening her other cafes in the coming weeks, but it will depend on the ongoing health and economic challenges.

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To keep employees and customers safe, Morkides says customers can order and pay online at brewhaha.com, and pick up their order in the cafés.

Baristas set up the orders on a table inside the café, and all is COVID-compliant.

Customers can visit the BrewHaHa! Instagram, Facebook and website for updated information about new menu items, hours and café openings.

"This has been a most difficult time, but I take comfort in the fact that we are a strong community that has always pulled together, and hold on to my belief that this new reality will change all of us, in many ways for the better," Morkides said.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 orptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico