Restaurant boss optimistic after crucial support

A BUSINESSMAN has been able to get over lockdown and put 70 per cent of staff at his pizza business back to work thanks to support from the UK Government. Giueseppe Fallone (below) and his wife Fiona own La Dolce Vita Pizzeria restaurant in O’hagan Street, Newry, as well as takeaway outlets in Patrick Street in the city and in Warrenpoint and Camlough. He is particularly pleased that he has not had to make a single one of his 130 staff redundant and is now feeling optimistic about the future. Giueseppe is one of countless businesses that have survived thanks to UK Government support schemes, which include government backed loans and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, also known as furloughing. Giueseppe, whose father came to Northern Ireland from Italy after the war and went into the fish and chip trade, said: “The restaurant closed on March 17 and the takeaways closed on March 20.” Grants from the UK Government and Stormont helped him get through the initial period when they had no turnover. Giueseppe said: “Stormont had the £10,000 grant and then there was the £25,000 grant for higher threshold rate payers. “But furlough has been the main one, a big saviour for the business.” Government grants and other measures helped keep the business afloat.. Giueseppe said: “The government pause in the VAT payments and rates were also a big help. Our VAT bill was due in April so the government deferred our payments and we were able to use the money we had in our VAT account to pay the furlough wages.” Taking the pressure off their VAT and rates bills has also allowed him to pay utility bills and finance on catering equipment, vehicles and software. He and his wife had been discussing starting cook-at-home pizza kits before the pandemic. As they were musing on how they could launch it, they had a call from O’hare’s, a local supermarket chain, asking if they could offer the product. The finished product contains two 10inch Dolcezza dough balls, freshly grated mozzarella, Tomato sauce and an instructional card with a Youtube link. Giueseppe said their outlets either make deliveries only or allow the public to queue in a socially distanced manner outside to collect orders placed online. They are not handling any cash. He said: “You can see it, week by week, getting back.”