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08/10/2022 10:19 AMOpening a restaurant has always been fraught with challenges. Opening a restaurant during a pandemic, however, compounds those difficulties and brings its own new set of challenges in ways that can overwhelm even the most savvy entrepreneur.
When Sarah and Neco Lopez bought Pasta Avest and Pizzeria 18 months ago during the height of the pandemic, they faced an uncertain and ever-changing climate. As pandemic-restrictions began to lift and light began to appear, inflation began to drive costs higher for everything from food to staffing.
“We are really trying to play it safe. The restaurant was quite popular and we didn’t want to come in and change everything all at once and scare folks away,” said Sarah. “We didn’t have millions of dollars either to come in and do a huge re-branding. We spent everything we had just to purchase the building and the business.”
Pasta Avest, located at 680 Boston Post Road, had been a Guilford mainstay for years before the Lopezes purchased the restaurant. Sarah said that with more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, both she and her husband knew operating a small business would be tough but Sarah describes the challenges of the pandemic and inflation as “wild.”
“It was so wild to open at that time,” Sarah admitted. “Both my husband and I have 20 plus years of restaurant experience each, having worked in D.C. and worked in all manner of restaurants. When the pandemic hit, I don’t want to say that it was worse than expected, but now the double-whammy of rising costs has really impacted every business, not just ours. Never in a million years would I have thought that that the profit margins on a pizza would be this small. It’s just wild, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing.”
Sarah explained that inflation and the associated rising costs have really cut into the restaurant’s profit margin. Despite trying to maintain stable prices for customers, costs of basic items have skyrocketed.
“The hardest challenge is not really the business, or even the staff, which does present challenges, but these costs are truly staggering-tomatoes doubled in price two weeks ago,” Sarah said. “We have tried to keep our prices stable, but I have to be honest, everything about being a small business owner is tough. We didn’t come into it thinking otherwise, so now we are focusing on consistency and quality.”
Sarah and Neco returned to Sarah’s hometown of Guilford two years ago, deciding to make the move to be closer to family and provide a less stressful atmosphere for their young children. After seeking advice from family, they decided to pull the trigger and buy the restaurant.
“That was a challenge in the aspect that we wanted to do our own thing and do a rebrand, but we also wanted to keep customer favorites while also offering new choices,” according to Lopez. “All of the networking that is needed, between local farmers and working with other restaurants, is something that we are trying to focus on. Establishing those relationships is a factor that is vital to our plans. When you don’t know people it is a very slow organic process-so we are just trying to remain patient and build on our successes.”
Patience and perseverance may prove to be key for many restaurants struggling in the current economy. While restaurateurs hope for full seats and busy tables, staffing issues have created new wrinkles for small businesses.
“Staffing can be difficult. We have a great staff here, but between rising food costs and lack of staff, every business is in the same situation. I think patrons do understand that patience is a necessary element to dining these days, and I have to remind staff that they are doing three or four jobs and they can’t get down on themselves. So, there really needs to be understanding on both sides,” Lopez said. “It’s not just costs either, some items simply are not available from vendors. I mean, how do you run a restaurant if you can’t get chicken?”
As far as advice for other businesses in their situation, Lopez said that a combination of flexibility and consistency are critical.
“This summer is a bit better, so we are remaining hopeful,” Lopez added. “Truly the biggest issue are the rising food costs. As long as we can sustain, we feel we can make it, but these costs really need to level out and come down if businesses like ours want to survive. I have found that…what was always helpful to us in D.C. is that network of restaurateurs. My advice is to try and meet as many people as I can who are in the same business, and to try and see what is working or not working for them. I ask the owners, the managers, the servers, even patrons about their experience. I think that once you get that network and can gather that info, it can be incredibly beneficial. Certainly, being flexible is vital, and that is not specific to restaurants, but I think just keeping at it, having that grit is what works.”
Pasta Avest and Pizzeria currently offers both indoor and outdoor dining, takeout, and catering options.The couple also hopes to eventually renovate the second floor into an event space, but making it through the current inflation crisis now occupies all of their efforts.