Pomona Pete’s closes doors, becomes another victim of the pandemic

Pomona Pete’s, a family restaurant at 55 Mill St. in the Unionville section of Farmington, has closed, another restaurant to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic, owner Joe Sweeney told the Courant.

“We closed in April and tried to remodel and revamp and cut out loose ends, as far as the amount of the lease. It just couldn’t be done,” Sweeney said. “When you talk about the cost of goods going up 18 to 22%, the availability of getting those goods, the labor percentages going up, the profit line was pretty much nothing. At some point you’re spending $1.01 to make a dollar. You got to be able to pay your bills. We couldn’t hold on any longer.”

He also said customers remain cautious about going out and enjoying restaurants. “The general public is still a little leery about doing a lot of things that they did three years ago,” he said.

He said he cut a lot of corners, but was hesitant to raise prices. “We try to keep the prices down because we know what our community is. Unionville is not a big-buck area. It’s not Hartford. It’s not New Haven,” he said.

Pomona Pete’s is the second

Unionville restaurant to announce its closure this week. Taprock Beer Bar & Refuge announced on Facebook it would close on May 21.

Pomona Pete’s, which opened in 2019, has struggled since the pandemic began. In February 2021, Sweeney closed the restaurant temporarily to hibernate through the cold season, when he could not use the patio to increase his traffic and revenue. At that time, he said curfew restrictions that were loosened to allow restaurants to open until 11 p.m. did not help his restaurant, which catered to a family crowd that didn’t stay out that late. He also said fees charged by thirdparty delivery apps cut drastically into his profit margin.

Rob Price, a partner in the restaurant, said Pomona Pete’s couldn’t apply for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund because even though business was down, during the application period business wasn’t down enough to make the cut.

Sweeney said he already has a new job, as general manager of Tomato Joe’s in Rocky Hill. He helped his staff members get new jobs, at Mama Luke’s in Farmington and at Tomato Joe’s.