L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano T here was a time, i n t h e l a s t f e w years, when find- ing a seat to eat authentic Ita- lian pizza or stopping for gelato required days of plan- n i n g a n d s c h e d u l i n g . Because, across all the Bay A r e a , f r o m M a r i n t o t h e South Bay, from San Francis- co to Oakland and Alameda, Italian businesses that are successful and well known have grown in number. Cus- tomers just loved high quali- ty food, alongside impeccable service and the unique expe- rience. A t l e a s t u n t i l M a r c h 2020, when the pandemic broke and everyone, both on the business and the cus- tomer's sides, had to quickly pivot to address the emer- gency. Customers started relying on at-home deliveries for the food they love; on the other hand, after a few weeks during which everyone was forced to close their doors, b u s i n e s s o w n e r s s t a r t e d thinking of new ways to sell their products and accommo- date customers' needs. O u r n e w a r t i c l e o f t h e s e r i e s d i v e s i n t o h o w t h e Covid-19 pandemic forced entrepreneurs to change, w h i l e p u s h i n g t o s t a y resilient and embracing new revenue models. It's a beautiful, sunny day i n S a n F r a n c i s c o a n d t h e weather is just perfect to taste some Italian gelato. California though has just announced stricter rules for non-essential businesses. We m e t w i t h G u i d o Mastropaolo and Patrizia P a s q u a l e t t i f r o m GIOGelato outside their store in Union Street. Guido opened this gelateria a few years ago, with the goal of serving the authentic Italian gelato and making each fla- vor in-house from scratch with all-natural, farm-fresh ingredients. "We started the year strong, also following our opening in San Ramon at the end of 2019 and a num- ber of events in the making," G u i d o , G I O G e l a t o C E O , recalls. "Running an Italian g e l a t e r i a , f o r t h e w a y w e know it, goes beyond what y o u s e l l a t t h e s t o r e . O u r business model includes a number of revenue streams: the stores of course, as well as delivery service, event catering, restaurant and gro- cery supply, and partnerships w i t h b i g c o m p a n i e s . Unfortunately Covid forced us to stop half of these activities and to put all our energy into deliveries, which grew and allowed us to make some cash, also thanks to Mayor Breed who helped to keep fees for businesses low. I n t h e l a s t t h r e e m o n t h s , we've been also focusing on our partnerships with restau- rants and groceries." Guido and his team managed to keep the business alive in a time when many small busi- ness owners had to complete- ly shut down. However, they also decided to go beyond what we call the "survival m o d e . " " W e l a u n c h e d GIOClub , a membership program to get your favorite gelato flavors on a regular basis, monthly or weekly, at h o m e . W e f o u n d o u t t h a t t h e s e c u s t o m e r s l i k e t h i s option so much that they actually keep their subscrip- tion active even if they come a n d v i s i t u s a t t h e s t o r e . GIOClub is allowing us to keep going, at a time when we had to make decisions on how to cut or minimize costs and lay some employees off." Patrizia, the pastry chef specialized in gelato making, h a s b e e n c r u c i a l f o r t h e growth of GIOGelato. Not only does she come from a long family tradition of arti- s a n a l g e l a t o m a k e r s i n Orvieto, but she is also very eager to promote the authen- tic tradition of gelato making. That's why the gelato made by GIOGelato has become that kind of unique and high quality product that you can find mainly at high-end gro- ceries around the city. "The partnership with this type of groceries has been extremely i m p o r t a n t i n t h e l a s t f e w m o n t h s . W e o f f e r a f r e s h product that our suppliers like to offer because clients fall in love with it and come back to get more." Groceries and member- ships did not compensate for the overall costs and losses, however they helped Guido and the team keep the busi- ness up and running while bringing a smile around the community. "If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader, sell ice cream, S t e v e J o b s u s e d t o s a y . I b e l i e v e w e e m b r a c e t h i s motto every time customers come to our store. We want to give the same joy of great times during this difficult year. It's almost mandatory for us to make people happy and we will never stop doing it." The big lesson for Guido and his team is that a crisis like this can help reinvent yourself and your business, because you can't help but look for new ideas and offer- ings. "You'll make mistakes when you try something new, h o w e v e r t e a m w o r k , resilience, and creativity can r e a l l y m a k e a d i f f e r e n c e . Your business will come out stronger when the storm is over". Maico Campilongo, the entrepreneur and founder of Terun and Italico restau- rants in Palo Alto, has shared a few words of wisdom that restore hope and optimism for the future. Maico gets emotional while he starts sharing his experience as being a business owner dur- ing a pandemic. The emer- gency has surely hit his busi- ness, but it has also had a big impact on the Terun-Italico family, on the employees who have been working hard to m a k e t h e s e t w o p l a c e s among the most favorite and successful in the entire Bay Area. SERENA PERFETTO "Back in March, we imme- d i a t e l y c l o s e d o n e o f o u r restaurants, Italico, and kept only the pizza delivery service from Terun. It's interesting how, right now, we have two similar businesses that are on different tracks. One of them - Terun - is going well, on the other hand, the sister restau- rant, Italico, is somehow sur- viving but just because we were able to negotiate the lease. Between 60% and 70% of the businesses here in the area have closed and we are very lucky to be still work- ing." The Terun team has been in business since 2006 and this has been one of the most d i f f i c u l t t i m e s M a i c o c a n r e m e m b e r . S i n c e t h e Campilongo brothers, Maico and Franco, moved to the US and opened their restaurant with Chef Kristyan, they have been working hard to make their brand recognized and a w a r d e d a c r o s s t h e B a y . Being in charge of the man- agement, Maico immediately had to come up with some ideas and give his employees some support. "Instead of running a fundraising cam- paign, Maico says, we decid- ed to offer gift cards that could allow us to keep some cash flow. We also got some money from the government to cover lease and paychecks and we decided to sell many of our wine bottles half price, w i t h t h e u l t i m a t e g o a l t o cover remaining costs." W h e n s h e l t e r - i n - p l a c e orders became less restrictive and the city approved a plan t o h a v e p e d e s t r i a n - o n l y streets, Terun found itself in t h e p e r f e c t s p o t . " W e a r e lucky to have our restaurant on California avenue because that allows outdoor seating. This seems to be the plan until at least May 2021 or m a y b e b e y o n d . " Unfortunately local orders keep changing on a weekly basis and, after an initial plan of reopening indoor seating at 25%, the surge of the virus i n s o m e c o u n t i e s p u s h e d local governments to retrieve the plan and allow only out- door seating again. "We have arranged an outdoor setup of 1000 sq feet with 40 seats. We will be able to replace the number of indoor seating with this beautiful space, at l e a s t f o r T e r u n . W e s t i l l struggle to find a solution for Italico though." Maico and his team's goal is to keep not only the busi- ness but also the spirit up. That's why they now offer live music performances on T u e s d a y s ( T e r u n ) a n d Thursdays (Italico). "Our mission has become to stay resilient and don't give up. Sometimes we think it'd be easier to close the business altogether, however it's cru- cial to stay positive and hope- ful and wait for this moment t o p a s s . W e k n o w w e a r e doing the right thing every time our customers come to say "Grazie" at the end of their dinner. We are here to offer them a table under the stars and help forget about this pandemic, even if it's just for a couple of hours." Guido and Patrizia, bringing a smile (and a gelato) to the community in the Marina and beyond (Photo: GIOGelato) SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY Business: how the pandemic opened new opportunities for Italian business owners in the Bay

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