Canton restaurant owners reflect on challenges, successes during COVID-19

This story originally appeared in the July 30 edition of the Canton Citizen.

***

They toil away in relative anonymity on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. They are dedicated, tireless, passionate, increasingly flexible — and surprisingly optimistic.

They are America’s restaurant owners, and in the face of the worst public health crisis in more than a century, they are as endangered as they are essential.

The patio area at Rosetta’s Italian Restaurant

Across the nation, more than 25,000 restaurants have closed their doors since the beginning of March, and of those, at least 60 percent will not be reopening, according to the latest Economic Impact Report released last week by Yelp. (In Canton, several restaurants have closed temporarily while at least one, Blue Hills Grille on Route 138, has closed permanently). Further analysis by the National Restaurant Association revealed that restaurants have lost a combined $116 billion in revenue since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak with sales remaining well below pre-pandemic levels for the month of June.

While the circumstances locally may not seem nearly as dire — particularly with the resumption of on-premises dining since the start of phase 2 of reopening — the challenges are numerous and all too real. Bars, for one, remain off limits and will not be reopened until phase 4, which is likely still several months away and will require the development of a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19. Restrictions on table spacing (six-foot minimum) and party size (six-person maximum) also limit revenue potential, while fixed costs, particularly rent, and increased variable costs for items such as cleaning supplies have all impacted the bottom line.

To get a better sense of how Canton restaurants are managing through the pandemic, the Citizen spoke to several local owners about their experiences over the past several months as well as their outlook for the future. For the most part, they seem cautiously optimistic, and all expressed gratitude to their patrons for their generous and ongoing support. At the same time, all acknowledged the threats facing their industry while also recognizing some of the specific challenges they have faced in their quest to stay afloat amid continued uncertainty.

***

For Carlo Gaita, owner of Rosetta’s Italian Restaurant in downtown Canton, arguably the biggest obstacle he endured was the loss of alcohol sales prior to the reopening of in-person dining in June, although his diverse menu of authentic Italian cuisine proved to be his “saving grace.”

“We’re a restaurant that happens to have a full bar, as opposed to a bar that happens to serve food,” Gaita noted.

He said he never even considered closing when the governor announced a prohibition on in-house dining in mid-March; instead he “pivoted” immediately to a takeout model while managing to retain any employee who wanted to continue working.

Gaita said the initial response for takeout was strong, whether it was out of loyalty, guilt, or perhaps a desire to “pay it forward,” and it helped to sustain the business throughout the early part of the spring. During this period, he also offered delivery, adjusted his hours, reassigned employees’ roles to improve the takeout experience, and introduced family platters.

“We had to make several changes within the restaurant to make it more efficient and faster for exclusive takeout,” he said. “In the restaurant industry, you’ve got to adjust as you go, and we were able to sustain it without increasing our prices, whereas a lot of other restaurants had to close, either permanently or temporarily.”

Gaita said he was also prepared for the start of phase 2 of reopening because he was already licensed and insured for outdoor dining — a process that he had undergone when he opened the restaurant five years ago. And when step 2 of phase 2 paved the way for indoor dining with enhanced health and safety protocols, Gaita said Rosetta’s was ready, noting that the safety of their guests had always been a top priority.

All things considered, Gaita said the past several months have been a “great success,” although it required plenty of adjustments and belt-tightening along the way. He also noted that his circumstances are different from a lot of other restaurants because he already had a patio and only serves dinner. Other types of restaurants, he said, have suffered greatly due to the state-imposed restrictions, including breakfast/lunch places, taverns, and establishments in the city that relied on large groups of office workers, tourists, and college students.

“We’re just grateful and we’re very fortunate,” said Gaita. “We did what we had to do to survive and we’re riding it out like anybody else.”

***

Meanwhile, just up the road from Rosetta’s at Big D’s Neponset Café, co-owner Donna Titus is also counting her blessings and considers herself luckier than most.

“We’re one of the lucky ones because we don’t have to pay a big mortgage or rent payment to anyone,” acknowledged Titus.

As Canton’s oldest operating restaurant, Big D’s is also blessed with a loyal clientele that Titus said “stuck with [them]” through the darkest days of the pandemic.

“The customers were so supportive,” she said. “I was just amazed at how much support we got while we were open for takeout. People were waiting an hour, two hours for pizza and they were so understanding.”

Despite the strong support, Titus said she still had to temporarily let go of some employees and mostly handled the weekday shifts on her own, answering phones and cooking the pizzas. She has since brought back a number of staff members and recently reopened for in-person dining, albeit in a limited capacity due to state restrictions. The restaurant also added 10 outdoor tables and that has helped to boost sales, although Titus said business has slowed somewhat since June.

Overall, Titus said she is grateful to have remained operational while meeting her basic expenses. “I’m not saying I made extra, but at least I was able to pay my bills,” she said.

***

In contrast to Titus’s situation at Big D’s, Joe Muresco has faced a much greater challenge in sustaining Canton Junction Sports Pub on Neponset Street, citing his rent costs that accrued during the first few months of the pandemic while he was not operational.

Muresco said his restaurant, a popular sports pub and local gathering spot, was not really suited for takeout and so he closed initially in mid-March in order to reconfigure his menu and ordering system. He has since reopened and business has been solid, although sales are still down roughly 70 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Muresco said he is committed to keeping Canton Junction open, but it will hinge on his ability to repay his back rent and his landlord’s ability to work with him on a suitable payment arrangement.

“I’m working on the line myself; the people that I have working are all working hard, sometimes doing double [shifts],” he said. “I’ve done everything I can as an owner when it comes to pinching pennies — staying home and not spending any money — so I can keep the place open.”

Muresco noted that he had purchased business interruption insurance to help cover expenses in the event of a closure, but his insurance company did not honor the claim. The issue has become a contentious one across the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting a wave of federal lawsuits against insurers for denial of coverage.

One bright spot for Muresco has been the support he’s received from the Canton community, including town officials, who he said were “very accommodating” with his efforts to implement outdoor dining.

“Canton is a wonderful town and the people are really, really great,” he said. “They want to help you out and they call for takeout and have been incredibly generous with their gratuities for the staff.”

***

Also feeling the love from his customers and support from the town is Steve Carey, co-owner of C.F. McCarthy’s in downtown Canton.

“Initially, [business] was very strong,” noted Carey, who offered takeout throughout the spring and has since reopened. “It has slowed down somewhat and I anticipated it would tail off, but some people are still coming every week without fail, and in some cases multiple times a week.”

As the operator of a pub with a lot of physical space dedicated to the bar, Carey said he and fellow owner Gilmar Cassiano knew from the start that takeout service would not be profitable “by any means.”

“We knew that financially the best move for us would have been to just close the doors and wait for word to be open,” he said.

However, they decided to press on for two reasons: to retain their employees and to hopefully remain an “open fixture in the community in a time of uncertainty.”

Carey said they have been able to do some rearranging in the restaurant to fit more tables and also recently expanded their outdoor seating, which has helped to bolster sales. Still, he said they are not seeing the same volume as before the pandemic hit and would not survive another lengthy statewide shutdown, adding that such a scenario would be “devastation for the industry.”

Despite the setback, Carey said he is happy with where they are after one year in business and he offered best wishes to “any entrepreneur who risks everything to try and do what they love.”

Gaita too offered best wishes for his fellow small business owners, who he said welcomed and embraced him when he first opened Rosetta’s in 2015.

“We’re not cut-throat with each other; there’s a real camaraderie here,” he said. “It’s a small community here in Canton, and we want to see each other do well.”

Share This Post

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=69618