Many people have lost their jobs as the city has shut down. But Hannah Kaplan, 29, was laid off from all three of hers.
I worked at Catfish, a Cajun restaurant in my neighborhood of Crown Heights, and I was a trivia co-host at a beer hall in Brooklyn. I also worked in the office of a guitar school, helping to schedule classes and coordinate events.
On March 15, I worked my last shift at Catfish, then we were told that the restaurant would shut down except for deliveries. The next day, trivia was canceled, and I got a call from the guitar school that they were moving everything online, so there was no need to have me in the office.
I’m lucky: I do have some savings set aside, and I’m collecting unemployment. I can get by for two months, maybe three. A couple friends have reached out, and I might be able to get a transcribing job.
I miss seeing people and talking to them. My former coworkers and I have been having Zoom happy hours.
I think the gig at the restaurant and the guitar school will come back, but not the trivia-hosting one, because the two women who run it have been hit hard from this crisis. I’ve been approaching it like ‘Whatever comes, will come,’ because focusing on getting a job back is like focusing on a life that’s already gone.
I can’t believe I miss saying, “Do you want home fries or grits with that?”
— As told to Suzy Weiss
Read more stories about the coronavirus causing unemployment.



