Retooled and revamped

Lorain Pastelillo House makes changes after break from business

Lorain Pastelillo House relaunched after a three-week break with new uniforms and a retooled menu.

The restaurant at 1700 E. 31st St. in South Lorain had closed from Dec. 30 to Jan. 18.

The restaurant industry has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, said Julio Soto, son of Eliu Quinones, the owner and chef of Lorain Pastelillo House.

“It’s been hard, but it’s going great,” Soto said. “We thank God for everything.”

A little over a year old, the business took three weeks off to rest after operating throughout the pandemic, he said.

During the break, the business condensed its menu, got new uniforms and custom masks and sanitized the entire facility, Soto said.

“We changed our menu and made Instagram and TikTok accounts to get our menu out there to customers,” he said. “Not all of our customers are on Facebook, and we wanted to share our menu with people on other platforms.”

Soto said there’s been an increase in the price of food during the pandemic and due to the various dishes the restaurant had on its menu, it became overwhelming.

“We had to simplify it somehow,” he said. “We took out the sandwiches and a lot of things other people were doing.

“We wanted to keep our unique dishes and favorite menu items.”

The new limited menu makes it easier for his staff of four and gives the new delivery service a chance to thrive, Soto said.

“We’re doing delivery service now because of the pandemic,” he said. “We’re a small business, and we don’t have a lot of space to dine in.

“So, we’re delivering all through Lorain. We have a $15 minimum and $4 delivery fee.”

Part of why Soto said he is so committed to the success of the business is because of community support.

“It was hard to adjust to the pandemic at first, and we wanted to make sure the employees were still able to work,” he said. “We don’t do this for us; we do it for our staff and for the community.”

Being a new staple in the community, Soto said he’s happy to hear feedback from customers.

He said he wants to make sure the community is happy with the service.

“We’re Lorain proud; we want to uplift the community and bring in more jobs to Lorain,” Soto said. “We hired delivery drivers in Lorain, and we’re happy to keep our doors open.

“It’s not easy, but we have to do our homework, and thank God.”

SUBMITTED PHOTOS Lorain Pastelillo House in South Lorain offers a selection of grab-and-go dishes.

During its recent three-week closure, Lorain Pastelillo House added custom masks for staff.