Local restaurants bouncing back post-COVID

Jul. 8—It's a new era for restaurants as the COVID-19 pandemic has cooled off for now.

Every restaurant has one thing in common among themselves and consumers — food prices have soared from last year.

One indispensable product, vegetable oil used for frying, has more than doubled in price.

A container of vegetable oil a year ago cost La Isla restaurant, which serves American and Mexican cuisine, $19 but now it's fetching $45, said Mindy Rodriguez, who owns the Hermitage restaurant, along with her husband LaZaro.

But at least vegetable oil is available, Mindy said.

"There's some stuff you can't get," she said. "We can't get the takeout boxes we use to use. So you have to improvise."

The couple bit the bullet and decided not to raise prices.

"But it's harder to be profitable with higher prices," Rodriguez said.

As COVID-19 spread starting in the spring of 2020, local restaurants, like many nationwide, found themselves scrambling as state governments ordered them to shutter their indoor seating for months. To keep the lights on restaurants, went full bore on takeout orders.

"We did fairly well," Rodriguez said.

Others took a gigantic leap in faith, like Alyssa Giovanni, who opened a restaurant in the middle of the pandemic. She started Giovanni's on East State Street in Sharon on April 28, 2021. The location previously housed Vey's Pub and Grille, which moved to larger quarters in Hermitage.

"It was scary," Giovanni said. "We didn't know what we had gotten into. But the opportunity presented itself, so I went all in."

The restaurant offers Italian and American cuisine, but Giovanni decided not to offer indoor dining for now. Instead the restaurant has only takeout and delivery through the DoorDash app.

There were rough patches in the supply chain that affected one of the most important ingredients for any pizza shop.

"At one point we had a hard time getting cheese," Giovanni said.

As winter passed and spring was in full bloom, she noticed a change in customer habits.

"There were fewer and fewer people coming in for takeouts who were wearing masks," Giovanni said.

Although food costs have skyrocketed, Giovanni said she's raised her prices only once over the past year. Costs for chicken alone doubled during that period. Since the sole price increase, the restaurant has been eating the higher costs.

"We want to keep our customer base, and that's what we have to do," she said.

While a labor shortage still exists — after employment grew by a larger-than-expected 372,000 in June — it hasn't hit Giovanni's, a family-owned restaurant. But other places are still looking to fill positions.

Janice Schwanbeck, executive director of the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce, said she's found restaurants are still hurting for employees, which is affecting scheduling.

"If they can't get those employees, then they have to cut back on their hours," Schwanbeck said.

And that's partially a reason why a new phenomena is hitting the bar scene. Fewer bars are staying open until the state-mandated closing time of 2 a.m. But the pandemic also has changed consumers' habits — they feel comfortable going home earlier.

"We used to stay open until 2 a.m., but now we find ourselves closing at midnight or earlier," Rodriguez said.

That's not the same everywhere. Twin City Elks is still going strong late into the night, said Linda Smith, manager of the Farrell bar.

"We're a club with members, and I think that makes us different," Smith said.

Still, it was tough getting people back, she added.

"March was horrible for us," Smith said. "But things are coming back. I think people are more comfortable now in going out."