Cappelletti Leans On Take-Out Menu To Get By In Pandemic

When the coronavirus began to spread like wildfire from New York City, Luigi and Robin Tagliasacchi, the owners of Cappelletti restaurant in Noyac, wasted little time in responding.

“We tried to stay ahead of the curve to keep our customers and employees safe,” said Ms. Tagliasacchi.

Normal cleaning practices were “put on steroids,” she said, “and we went on lockdown, with no nonessentials allowed in the kitchen — not delivery people, not servicemen, not anybody.

Employees were issued masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, and ordered to stay as far apart from one another as possible. Surfaces like doorknobs and countertops were wiped down regularly. Even the pens customers used to sign credit card receipts were sanitized after each use.

When the state announced that restaurants would be allowed to offer takeout meals only, “we took all the tables and chairs out of the dining room and the chairs from the bar, so customers couldn’t ask, ‘Can I just sit here while I’m waiting?’” Ms. Tagliasacchi added.

Six weeks into the lockdown, Cappelletti is maintaining its regular hours, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, except Sunday, when it closes at 9.

It’s also keeping most of its staff — with the exception of four employees who did not feel comfortable working — on the payroll.

“We cross-train everybody, so if you work the bar, you know how to work the counter or wait tables,” she said. “We didn’t want to lay anybody off. There are some people working for us who are the only ones working in their household. We feel a moral obligation to do what we can.”

While the restaurant is getting by on its takeout orders, Ms. Tagliasacchi said the future will be a challenge, especially if restaurants are only allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity in the immediate future. “We’ve only got 12 tables,” she said. “You can’t even cover your costs for the day at 25 percent.”

“If this goes on for a year and half, or two years, what is business going to look like?” she asked. “It’s going to be very tough for our industry.”

STEPHEN J. KOTZ