Sixpence Kitchen to serve last pizzas in Sylvania this weekend

"This wasn't something that was easy for us to do," said Amanda MacDonald. "My husband and I probably took about six hours discussing how we were gonna tell everyone before we actually made it public, because it was difficult."

She and husband, Frank, own Sixpence Kitchen, and on Nov. 22, posted on their Facebook page that they would be closing the beloved restaurant at the end of business on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m.

MacDonald and her former business partner, Chad Montgomery, started the restaurant in February 2018. Sixpence was a huge hit, offering wood-fired pizzas, wings and, while Montgomery was there, some of the best cupcakes in town.

He left Sixpence near the start of the year, and it became an all-family-run business with Amanda running it with Frank. Their eldest son Evan has also been helping out, and before the closure, there were plans for their other three boys to help when they came of age.

So why is this beloved family business closing? MacDonald said, like other restaurants around the country, theirs had been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was really hard to find employees and it became, mostly, myself and my husband running it, full time, anywhere between 40 and 70 hours a week," she said. "It got to where, I felt like we would lose employees just so fast … we can't find people that want to stay at a location for the amount that the hospitality industry can pay."

The National Restaurant Association surveyed 6,000 operators and 250 supply chain businesses. They reported in December 2020 that over 110,000 restaurants had permanently closed and that 87% of full-service restaurants were seeing revenue losses of 36% on average.

But the pandemic wasn't the only reason for closing.

"We have four children at home," MacDonald said. "We had to ask ourselves 'How much of our kids' childhoods are we going to miss?' and when it came time to renew our licenses, we decided that it was for the best for us to focus more, be able to have that time with our kids before they're actually out of the house."

Though he is no longer an owner of Sixpence, Montgomery shared a similar point of view.

"The biggest sacrifice is what you take from your family to run a restaurant," he said via Messenger. "When I sold my shares it was because I simply felt the restaurant took over my life and my dreams of baking and farming kept being put aside. I'm sad that my friend's business is closing, and I'm not sad that they get their life back to enjoy their family and not work 60-80 hours every week and miss out on what really counts."

The MacDonald family intends to stay in Sylvania, but they will be taking advantage of their new freedom.

"This gives us the opportunity to actually go on vacation and spend time together," MacDonald said. "We have not had the ability to leave the local area over the last three years, and they [the kids] were excited to know that we might go to the beach for a weekend, spend some time away without fear of a restaurant disaster."

Until the family hits the waves, they are preparing to finish this chapter in their story, part of which has been reading over the many comments on their Facebook page from customers who are sad to see them go.

"The best pizza in town is going," wrote Calli Aston Joiner. "Everyone is gonna miss y'all!"

"Oh no!!!! So sad to see this. Love their food. Probably one of the best pizzas I have had," wrote Trenda Brown Ivey. "Best of luck to the owners."

"You will be missed!! The best pizza Sylvania has!" wrote Haleigh C. Lariscy.

MacDonald said it has meant a lot to read these words and that "It's the kind of stuff we're going to carry with us."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Sixpence Kitchen owner talks about closure, community's response