NORFOLK, Va.(WAVY) — With the coronavirus pandemic now one-year-old, across the country, more than 100,000 restaurants have closed. On the retail side, more than 8,000 stores have closed, including the popular Apple store in MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk.

As the economic fallout continues, a Norfolk native did the unthinkable late last year.

58-year-old Dorian Flood, who grew up in the now-redeveloped Liberty Park section of Norfolk, signed a lease with MacArthur Center for 1,012 square feet of restaurant space in the mall’s food court.

“Who would do that? Who would do that? A crazy woman right?” asked Flood.

On January 1, 2021, Flood made history as the first Black female to open a restaurant in the 22-year-old MacArthur Center.

“We opened up a restaurant in the heart of a pandemic and God has blessed us; we have been doing wonderful. We have serviced so many customers — over 5,000 within two months,” Flood said.

That’s a lot of jumbo fried chicken wings, collards, mac and cheese, homemade cornbread, rolls and her bestseller: honey barbeque wings. And, don’t forget the super sweet Kool-Aid.

In January, Aunt Dorian’s saw sales of $46,000, followed by February with $38,000. Mall General Manager James Wofford said those are great numbers for a food court restaurant.

“Aunt Dorian’s has been a wonderful addition to our food court tenants, but more importantly a great addition to our food offerings in the center and downtown,” Wofford said.

With stores and restaurants shuttered around the region, Flood is turning a profit as customers have turned to comfort food during the pandemic.

“This type of food takes me back to just like yesterday [Sunday dinner] with my parents having family time — food for the heart, ” said first-time customer Rebeca Kershaw.

Before the pandemic, Flood operated four locations. She hopes to expand again in the future.