Restaurant survival in Bradenton during pandemic takes loyal customers, committed owners
Even in the best of times, running a restaurant is not easy. All that cooking, serving, cleaning, planning and organizing is hard work of epic proportions, where the eatery is only as good as its last customer’s Yelp review.
And yet, against all odds, some Bradenton restaurateurs, with their dining rooms and bars closed, are hanging on in the worst of times, battling it out against a worldwide pandemic.
Rick and Kelly Jessop have operated the 64-seat Katie’s Cafe at 3130 53rd Ave. E., for 6 1/2 years, and built a loyal clientele with good food and the motto, “Where nice still matters.”
Rick Jessop, who hails from Lowestoft, England, is in the United States on a visa to operate Katie’s Cafe.
“What else am I going to do if the restaurant closes?” he asks. “We are doing curb side and take out. It’s tough going. But we have a lot of regulars and we are really thankful for them.”
Some of the customers are showing their loyalty by ordering more meals than they normally would.
One of his customers came to Katie’s Cafe and requested enough beef stroganoff to feed 16 local firefighters.
Jessop was happy to oblige. “It has been very moving to see their support,” he said.
Katie’s, which operates with a staff of 10, has not had to lay anyone off.
For more information about Katie’s Cafe, call 941-727-8615.
‘We are doing our best to stay afloat’
Last July, the husband-and-wife team of Jordan and Jason Kazbour opened BubbaQue’s BBQ at 6581 State Road 70.
The Kazbours embrace the company motto: “The only thing we take serious is our BBQ. From your very first contact with us until the second you wipe the last bit of BBQ off of your chin, we want you to have fun.”
With their dining room closed because of the pandemic, they are focusing on curbside service, takeout, and neighborhood delivery.
“We are doing our best to stay afloat,” Jason said. “Once we rebound from this, we will be a stronger company.”
For more information, call 941-896-6588 or visit bubbaquesbbq.com.
Jim and Kelly Pierzga bought the Lobster Pound, 8740 State Road 70 E., two years ago and were successfully turning what had been primarily a take-out operation into more of a friendly little seafood bistro.
“It really blossomed and we had a lot more surface area for sit-down dining. It was going very well until four weeks ago,” Jim Pierzga said.
But thanks to strong customer loyalty and the Lobster Pound’s reputation for top-notch seafood, the business has survived the pandemic and offers takeout and delivery within a six-mile radius Tuesday through Sunday.
“They are going to have to tear us out of here. Everything we have is invested in the business. Failure is not an option for us,” he said.
For more information about Lobster Pound, visit www.lobster-pound.com or call 941-755-3474.
Local restaurants adjusted in quick order from having full dining rooms to operating with six feet of spacing between guests to scaling down and finally to offering only curbside and delivery service. A few others, reinvented themselves as on-line groceries, including Grove, Pier 22, Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant and the Sandbar Restaurant.
Several restaurants, including Beach Bistro and the Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurants, eventually decided to close until the coronavirus pandemic abated.
The most recent deciding to close until after the pandemic passes is Truman’s Tap & Grill, 11161 State Road 70 E., in the Lakewood Walk shopping center.
Owner John Brocke approached landlord Publix to ask about rent deferral and learned that it was available only for businesses that closed, rather than for those that were still operating.
”I lost probably $6,000 of product. I donated what I could, threw the rest away, and closed Saturday,” he said.
Publix announced in late March that it is offering rent relief to businesses operating in Publix-owned shopping centers that have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The relief package includes waiving rent for two months, as well as waiving payments for common area maintenance fees and taxes, regardless of the tenant’s access to other relief or assistance.
“As a company that started as a small business 90 years ago, Publix wants to help businesses renting from us survive the economic impact of these unexpected closures,” said Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous.
Brocke hopes to reopen the business after the pandemic abates, but he expects many business will fail in coming months.
“Anyone who thinks we will have a V-shaped recovery is nuts,” he said.
