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With the constantly growing unemployment numbers, a Midlands business owner is serving up new ways to keep more people working.

Ricky Mollohan stays busy. He owns Solstice Kitchen and Wine Bar in Northeast Columbia and two other Midlands restaurants. An industry where business is usually booming on Friday nights is anything but that these days.

"Our industry is one of the first that gets cut out from people's budget," says Mollohan.

According to labor department numbers the economy has hit the service sector the hardest. For Mollohan, business has consistently gone down for about a year now.

"The last six months have been the hardest months of my adult life. I mean it's scary," says Mollohan.

To cope with that fear, Mollohan has come up with ways to entice customers to eat at his restaurants.

"We've changed our menus. We're offering $25 three course meals. We also have half price wine multiple nights of the week," says Mollohan.

He says these efforts have helped, but tables are still not filling up.

"We're having to do a whole lot extra just to get back to the break even point, says Mollohan.

Although, he is not giving up. Mollohan says he finds ways to make work fun, believing that things will turn around. He just hopes it's sooner rather than later.

He says, "This restaurant is my home. This restaurant is my livelihood and I got employees who have been at the restaurants for years."

Mollohan doesn't want sluggish business to put them in the unemployment line.