Quick Service Indeed…Pomodori Pizzeria Re-opens Right Away In Moncton
MONCTON – Pomodori Pizzeria, located at 686 St. George St., opened the doors to its dining room just a few hours after the New Brunswick government announced restaurants and other businesses were allowed to re-open.
Michael O’Pray, who co-owns the Moncton location of the Rothesay-based wood-fired pizza chain with wife Adrienne, said the quick response was thanks to the restaurant’s 3,500-square-foot space and self-serve model, which make it easier to ensure physical distancing.
“With the quick service model, we don’t have waiters and waitresses, we don’t have serving staff, we serve you your pizza, but outside of that, you’re on your own, there are a lot fewer touch points….the [entryway] stairwell is over six feet wide,” he said. “So I think that all those factors make it okay for us to say this is a good decision.”
Preparations to re-open started the first time the government announced restrictions were being loosened on April 24. Following the government’s phased plan, O’Pray and his team expected the restaurant may be able to open its dining room within two-to-four weeks from that date if case numbers stay low.
They looked at businesses that are open, like grocery stores, for clues on how to operate while complying with public health rules. O’Pray also relied on a relationship he’s built with Hansen Signs since Pomodori opened in Moncton back in January to get Covid-19 signage ready quickly.
They stocked up on hand sanitizers and masks from Kredl’s Corner Market, moved out some tables and chairs, and “were ready to go,” O’Pray said.
Tables are now further away from each other – “more than six feet for sure,” O’Pray said. The larger tables that used to seat six to eight people now only have seats for four. The restaurant that used to have capacity for 100 people can now only host 50 people at a time. Front of house staff also wear masks and ensure touch points are being sanitized regularly.
Customers will now be given their cutlery in a cup alongside their pizza, instead of getting it themselves at a designated area like before.
Where the couches are positioned back-to-back, customers will only be allowed to occupy one side.
So far, Pomodori has been able to keep all six full-time staff. They’ve also rehired three of 10 part-time staff, who are mostly university students, with reduced hours.
“We’re down about 40 percent [revenue] from when we opened. So if we can make some of that back up again, we’ll quickly bring any of those students back who want to work,” O’Pray said. “If we have the hours and we have a need, we want to bring them all back.”
For now, the restaurant operates on shorter hours – from 11.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and 11.30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. But O’Pray says because the restaurant also serves Italian coffee, they could open a little earlier should customers seek out the service.
O’Pray isn’t expecting business volume to go back to the way it was quickly. Over the weekend, he said 80 percent of sales still came from online and curb-side orders, while only about 20 percent were from people dining in.
“Friday night we had few [guests] in the restaurant inside, and a few more on Saturday, we had a couple of groups in [on Sunday], so people are definitely poking their heads out the window,” he said.
O’Pray said his restaurant has had an online ordering system from the day it first opened earlier this year.
“That was actually something that we hadn’t really taken advantage of. So I think now it’ll be a mix of both, probably still more curbside until people are comfortable being in the space,” he said.
“Through this whole process, we’re trying not to overstep in any way. We’re taking directives from the government. We have our operational plan in place like they had requested, and just being able to make sure that we wouldn’t be doing this unless we thought it was comfortable for people to enter,” he said.
Pomodori’s Saint John and Rothesay locations are expected to re-open Tuesday with limited seating, according to a Facebook post.