Restaurant owners struggle despite federal assistance
Despite receiving over $100,00 in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program and taking out a Small Business Administration loan, a local restaurant owner still questions whether his two restaurants will survive the winter.
Vincent Cappelletti — the owner of Centrico in Bethel and Lucas Local Oyster Bar in Newtown — recalled immediately feeling the pandemic’s effects in March. He shut down both restaurants for two months and made major adjustments for his summer reopening.
When Cappelletti reopened both establishments in late May, he did so “looking forward to a really difficult time,” knowing each would look drastically different from their prepandemic glory. What were formerly debt-free streams of income quickly became “a burden.”
He had to cut his staff by more than half and concentrated his operating hours so the restaurants are only open Thursday through
Sunday, Cappelletti said.
Some employees opted to leave in favor of collecting unemployment benefits while others landed jobs with Amazon and make more money, Cappelletti said. His previous Centrico staff of 15 was cut down to five employees, while his Lucas Local crew of 25 was reduced to 12 members.
Cappelletti’s battle to keep employees on board was just the beginning. The businesses struggled in the face of constant, unchanging costs for utilities and rent. He applied for PPP loans and was awarded a loan for each business receiving $66,975 for Centrico and about $90,000 for Lucas Local Oyster Bar.
“That money is so far gone,” Cappelletti said. “I only received enough for about six weeks of payroll, maybe.”
Cappelletti said he put every cent of the PPP loans toward rent, utilities and his employees’ payroll. He also received two small business loans tied to the stimulus package, one roughly for $50,000 and the other for approximately $25,000, which he used to cover other “infrastructure” costs such as garbage removal, cable, internet and fixing equipment.
Several months and four loans later, Cappelletti’s restaurants have accumulated a load of debt and continue to suffer, he said.
“I feel it’s an absolute disaster. I think the industry has been ruined,” Cappelletti said. “We’re looking at at least three-plus years, after we get back to normal, to build the industry back up.”
In addition to no longer being debt-free, Cappelletti said unless the SBA loan he took out is forgiven, he’ll be “behind the eight ball because business will not triple or quadruple after the pandemic is over.”
He’s looking ahead to the next round of PPP loans in hopes he will be granted more money, otherwise, he knows his business will “have a hard time getting through this winter for sure.”