ANNA, IL (WSIL) --- A southern Illinois business owner says he's struggling to keep his restaurant open.
Don Barden owns Old Route 51 South Bar-B-Que in Anna. He says continued increases in electric bill rates could force him to close his restaurant.
"They might as well come and put out of business signs on your windows," said Barden.
Barden is just trying to run a business he loves. Since March 2020, Barden has owned Old Route 51 South Bar-B-Que in Anna.
"I had a passion for cooking so I decided to take off and do the cooking," he said.
That passion has helped Barden build his business.
But if owning a business isn't difficult enough, Barden says increases in his electric bill might force him to shut down.
"This bill here is basically a termination of business," said Barden.
Barden has seen his electric bill increase by more than 200 percent going from almost $700 in May to more than $2,000 in July.
"There's not $2,000 in the bank to pay that bill," said Barden.
With the heat index topping 100 degrees for multiple days, Barden was expecting an increase but not a $1,300 one.
"Obvious you're going to expect an increase in your bill," Barden said. "But you're not expected to hand someone a bill that goes from $800 to $2,000 and they give you a week to pay it."
Barden says rather than going into further debt keeping the business open -- his only option could be to close down. If he does that it's not just going to affect him but his customers and his employees.
"I have 24 people working for me that are relying on their paychecks to pay their power bills," Barden says They're basically going to terminate my business with a power bill of $2,000."
Although the restaurant has a steady flow of customers, Barden says money is still tight with all his increased overhead.
"It's not about running to the band with tons of money because we're busy," said Barden. "It's basically paying your bills and you're lucky to have any left over at the end of the month. With this, there's nothing. We're actually paying to be in business right now."
Barden doesn't take a salary. Instead, his focus is on maintaining his restaurant and keeping his employee. He says -- the increase in electric rates makes both of those nearly impossible.
"This is out of control," he said. "This is when you expect your government to step in. I mean, this is robbery. period. This is flat-out robbery."
