At Giovanni’s Frozen Pizza we work with many liquor store/bars around the 5 state region in the Midwest to keep them stocked up with great pizzas to cook for their hungry patrons.
Covid 19 restrictions throughout Minnesota have forced these businesses to close their doors completely putting undue stress on already stressed individual owners as well as city governments all across the state. It doesn’t matter where you fall on the side of lockdowns, there’s no denying that it is placing an unequal burden on targeted segments of the economy.
Several people say “ It’s just young kids not being able to go to the bar for a few weeks… big deal, they’ll get over it.”
It kind of does seem like only a slight inconvenience to the average person until you start to think of all the ancillary businesses and their employees that rely on these establishments for their livelihoods.
Giovanni’s Frozen Pizza is just one of many of these type of support businesses. Even though we do have some “retail….grocery store, c-store” business, our main business is delivering frozen pizzas to bar/grills, taverns, on a regular schedule to stock their freezers to provide food to their customers. We have been doing this for 24 years and it’s been a nice business. Since the latest complete shutdown on bars , restaurants , and indoor activities that market has completely disappeared…
The first shutdown came with help in the form or PPP programs to help pay employees, and low interest loans to help companies. The whole nation seemed unified.
This latest round comes with no help from the state of Minnesota. This entire segment was simply told to shut your doors and come back when we say it’s ok.
Giovanni’s is working hard during this time to continue to pay our employees and our utility bills, mortgages, loan payments, truck repairs, etc. None of these things were asked to go away. We were just told to continue to pay all these things but do it without any revenue. That formula doesn’t work. It’s one thing to hang on for a few weeks….. Quite another to be told that you’re really just being inconvenienced a little because your customers can’t go to the bar for a few weeks.
Minnesota either needs to reach out with support for this industry or re-open all bars and restaurants when the announced date arrives.