Bryan Morin, who owns the Belmar restaurant Federico's, took out $50,000 credit line to pay his employees that can't work during the coronavirusThis N.J. restaurateur took out a 50K credit line to pay his employees during coronavirus crisis. Buy his pizza!
By Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
If you’re going through hell, order pizza. I think it was Winston Churchill who said that, but someone should double check. I would go to the library myself and look it up but, well, you know.
But I am quite sure this moment in time calls for pizza. Having that familiar cardboard box arrive at your front door, its contents steaming hot and deliciously glorious, is one of the few slices of normalcy we still have during the coronavirus pandemic. No pun intended.
Plus, it is practically your civic duty. The fate of our small businesses, including the restaurants that are so important to our communities, is hanging in the balance during this time of social distancing. So tonight, as you contemplate what to feed your stir-crazy family, your should stand in your kitchen and declare the following:
“For the good of our country, I demand we order two large pies with sausage and extra cheese!”
And if you’re in Belmar (or Bradley Beach or Spring Lake or anywhere close)? Please consider ordering from Federico’s on Main Street. Throw in the chicken wings and some garlic knots and some penne with vodka sauce. Keep ordering, because owners Bryan and Michael Morin did something so generous last week, they deserve some good karma -- and, more importantly, greenbacks -- headed their way.
When Gov. Phil Murphy ordered that restaurants close their dining rooms, they knew that they would no longer need most of their employees with the decline in business that was certain to follow. But they also believed that it was unfair to the men and women they considered their second family to hand them pink slips during these tumultuous times.
So Bryan Morin went to the bank, took out a $50,000 line of credit, and made the 20 employees on Federico’s payroll a promise: No matter what happens over the next two months, they would still receive a paycheck.
“My father told us a long time ago: You’ve got to take care of your employees first, because without those employees, you don’t have a business at all,” Morin said. “I definitely owe them a debt -- even if it means I might go into debt.”
Think about that. At a time when hundreds of thousands of waiters, dishwashers and other restaurant employees around the country are losing their jobs, Morin is writing checks to his staff even at a time when he knows his bottom line is going to suffer significantly.
We’re all looking for heroes during this crisis. Well, if you’re in Belmar, look at the men standing in front of the pizza oven. And order something.
“I have a lot of friends who work as bartenders and waiters, and they have no idea what they’re going to do with themselves,” said Chelsea Phillips, who started as one of Federico’s “phone girls” 12 years ago and now manages the place. “When I tell them (what Morin did), they want to know why I’m so lucky to work for the greatest people.”
Look: We all have plenty to worry about as it is. We’re worried about elderly parents and grandparents, home-schooling our kids, keeping our own bosses happy. We’re worried about having enough toilet paper, about our shrinking portfolios, about everything and anything.
The fate of our favorite restaurants might not crack that list. But many of them, more than we want to contemplate, might not survive a prolonged shutdown. These are places that are an important part of our lives, a reliable diner or a favorite taco shop, owned and operated by hard-working people who live in our communities.
People like Morin. He isn’t worried about shutting down. He hopes the summer months bring more tourists to the Jersey Shore, but even as he keeps his fingers crossed, he understands that might be wishful thinking given the projections.
He is doing what he can to help. Now it’s up to the rest of us, wherever we are, to do our part. You should dial your favorite Indian restaurant on Tuesday night, not just because you’re too mentally fried to cook, it’s your duty as an American citizen. Order now. Order often.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said during another crisis in this country’s history, “The only thing we have to fear, is the fear of not having pizza.” Or something like that. Hey, the libraries are closed, okay?