New business owners make pandemic pivot when opening
CAPITAL REGION (WRGB) — Opening a business is challenging enough., but when you add a pandemic on top of it and it becomes even more difficult.
For Maura Pulver, she owned a small business in Saratoga County for roughly 10 years.
Like many, COVID-19 brought challenges, and she did what she calls a pandemic pivot.
“I'm not so sure I would’ve opened a business during a pandemic if I hadn’t already had a following and had already been kind of doing the same thing, “said Pulver.
In November 2020, with the support of friends and family, she opened Simply Food by Maura.
“I don’t have a terrible pandemic story it’s going to go down as like a turning point in my life for positive things,” Pulver adds.
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But opening a restaurant during the pandemic did come with challenges from staffing to supply and demand of inventory.
“Yes, the supply chain being cut at the weirdest points affected things," she said. “There were some days where my orders got screwed up and I didn’t get things that I needed do you know what we were just fine yes customers were just fine. “
Pulver adds starting a business during a pandemic was easier than having to adjust.
In Troy, that is what's happening at Café Euphoria.
"The pandemic itself adds a whole extra layer. You must think about what if COVID rates go back up again,” said Atsushi Akera, General Manager of Cafe Euphoria. “How do we make sure we can pivot, that we have the kind of resilience built into the model.”?
While the cafe is still in the construction process, the team said they’re making the layout and menu with the pandemic in mind.
"Our target goal is that 1/3 of our sales are to go or online order,” said Akera. “If the pandemic really hits hard, then that becomes our business. That becomes 2/3's of our business."
Cafe Euphoria owners say the goal is to be open during the holiday season.
