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NYC Restaurants Struggle To Make Profit During Phase 2 Of Reopening
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Restaurants typically operate on thin profit margins, but establishments are getting squeezed as they struggle to serve their communities eager to eat out in phase two of New York City’s reopening.
“You need approximately somewhere between 70-75 percent capacity in order to make a small profit,” said Melba Wilson the owner of the eponymous Harlem restaurant and president of the NYC Hospitality Alliance.
Wilson told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, that the industry is excited to usher in phase two this week with outdoor dining permitted curbside and on the streets on nights and weekends. But, many restaurants failed to pivot during the peak of the pandemic to food delivery and that element is key for establishments to turn a profit.
“I, personally, at Melba’s was open 14 years before I decided to do take-out and I thought take-out was just bringing another body in the restaurant in order to handle the calls and it’s an entirely separate operation,” Wilson explained, adding, “Unless it’s something that you were doing previously, I find that a lot of my counterparts found it very difficult to pivot.”
She said it’s “very grim and very difficult” for the industry as a whole, but restaurateurs should get creative in marketing their establishments, knowing that their communities want to support local businesses.
“We’ve been cross-promoting and supporting so many other businesses in the community to make sure that our community thrives and that we stay alive,” Wilson said.
Among her creative marketing initiatives at Melba’s Restaurant are T-shirts, promoting and selling her cookbook and urging customers to buy gift cards at a discount. She also told WCBS 880 owners should advertise take-out and delivery to those passing by and people prevented from eating at restaurants outside due to statewide capacity limits.
Wilson laments that many landlords have not given breaks on rent payments to local restaurants and that will drive smaller eateries out of business.
“Most of us still have to pay rent, we have to pay Con-Ed bill, we have to pay insurance,” she said of industry-wide fixed costs. “Opening for outdoor seating right now is important and will allow us to have more guests that are going to come in, order take-out, but then they have a place to socialize, to sit outside in a safe environment.”
Hear how restaurants are reinventing themselves to recover on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or the media player above.
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WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast: Local Business Leaders Share Wisdom On Survival, Recovery
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Three local pioneers have made pivots to stay afloat and support their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cindi Bigelow, third generation owner of Bigelow Tea, Boxcar’s Joe Colangelo and Michael Bednark of Bednark Studio shared their experiences with WCBS 880 business reporter Joe Connolly on the first-ever WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast, sponsored by Investors Bank and Spectrum Business.
“I try to pride myself on thinking ahead,” said Bigelow, who was forced to adjust her Fairfield, Connecticut factory operations and implement new safety procedures. “I found myself, really, just operating as fast as I could to try to keep up with what else we needed to do to do it right at Bigelow and for our employees. It was hard. It was a lot of work.”
Cindi said that at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, health guidance changed so rapidly that she and her executive team updated procedures multiple times a day. While sales for tea surged, other areas of her business continue to suffer and safety for her employees remains the priority.
Colangelo’s commuter parking app business plummeted 100 percent; revenue dropped to $0. The U.S. Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan was forced to pivot into a new line of business.
“Talk to your customers on the phone. Just say, ‘Hey, can I grab you for fifteen minutes? I just want to hear what your problems are,'” the Boxcar founder said of how he developed four new services in New Jersey.
Today, Colangelo’s Cranford-based company offers grocery pick-up and delivery services, car detailing, outdoor pools and shows drive-in movies, which help boost its brand awareness.
“There may be these ways that you can solve their problems that you haven’t thought of, yet,” the Naval officer turned entrepreneur said.
Michael Bednark transformed his Brooklyn Navy Yard factory from designing and manufacturing displays for clients, including Saks Fifth Avenue, to becoming an essential business by making face shields and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for New York City hospital workers. They actually beat the largest face shield manufacturer, Bauer Hockey, to market.
“I don’t want to go into a completely new business, but something that’s not that far off of an iteration of my business,” Bednark explained to Connolly and the Virtual Business Breakfast panel.
He said his mentality at the outset of the coronavirus outbreak in New York in March was focused on how he can help to “serve those people with the team and the equipment that I have.”
Bednark added a new COVID-19 product line last month by making and installing plastic dividers in ride sharing drivers’ cars to prevent the spread of the virus.
“How did you want to act during this crisis?” reflected Colangelo. “Were you out there helping people, treating your counterparties, your partners fairly? Because, you will build up the best brand and that brand will be around for 30-40 years if you treat people fairly right now.”
The entrepreneurial spirit on the panel was palpable, punctuated by the drive to serve their customers, employees and business partners in an unprecedented health and economic crisis that is fueling uncertainty and stress.
“It’s just constantly reassessing and listening more and taking all your years of experience and just keep pushing that envelope and keep pushing that bar up,” Bigelow said, adding, “No matter what, just keep trying.”
Watch the WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast above to learn innovative ideas to survive and recover from the pandemic.
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‘Back to Work Does Not Mean Back to Normal’: LI Businesses Prepare For Unusual Summer Season
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — There’s cautious optimism around Long Island’s recovery as the region sits in phase two of New York State’s reopening from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We need to rebuild confidence,” said Kevin Law, president and CEO of the Long Island Association.
In an interview with Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, Law said businesses can only build consumer confidence by making safety its priority.
“Complying with the new state standards of personal safety and hygiene and social distancing and masks and sanitizers and plastic shield guards – all of those things not only will protect health, I think they will begin to restore confidence,” he said.
About 300,000 people returned to work when Long Island entered phase two of reopening last week, Law told WCBS 880.
“Back to work does not mean back to normal because it still means there are going to be a lot of restrictions,” he explained, adding that occupancy limits will exist through phase three, as outlined by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Law is a member of the Governor’s New York Forward Reopening Advisory Board, which decides whether the region moves onto the next phase. He says reopening is only part of the short-term plan for businesses throughout the state. Business owners must also determine how to recover, and then, reimagine their future while the government drafts relief legislation.
“What we’re trying to focus on is some other longer-term, economic development strategies whether it’s big projects to try to accelerate or maybe tax or regulatory policies that would benefit business and encourage growth, Law said.
In the end, he believes Long Island will bounce back, but he acknowledges there are some hurtles. There has been a political divide amid the pandemic between the City and the Island as it pertains to people fleeing east to work remotely and vacation on Long Island beaches.
“The east end has always relied on New York City residents to support its real estate economy and its tourism economy in terms of restaurants and bars and hotels,” Law noted, adding, “For some now to question New York City folks coming out here, that’s sort of, I believe, quite disingenuous.”
He said vacation spots in the Hamptons and Montauk will survive if Long Island embraces City residents this summer.
“Our economies are inexplicitly linked and we shouldn’t pit one region against the other region,” Law said.
Hear more about building consumer and business confidence on the road to recovery on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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Barbara Corcoran Told Her ‘Shark Tank’ Companies To Reinvent To Survive
In Best Of, Entertainment, Featured, Guest, Interview, Latest, News Stories, The World, Top News, videosBy Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK(WCBS 880) — Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran says 80 percent of the businesses she has invested in on “Shark Tank” will not survive the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The minute this problem started, I said, ‘Sit down and make a list of where every piece of your business comes from, and then, make, right next to it, a list of how you can replace it cause it ain’t going to be there anymore,'” Corcoran told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso of her conversations with the owners of the roughly 80 businesses she bought stake in on the hit ABC reality television program.
Corcoran said on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, that only a few owners took her seriously when she told them to incorporate a tight team of workers into making decisions on reinventing themselves. Those that did “hit the floor running.”
She said business owners who are persistent and tenacious in their approach are the “warriors” who will survive the recession. She also emphasized communication with customers while working to actively sell current and new products and services.
“I’ve never seen a new business survive if it’s not led by a salesman,” Corcoran said, adding, “If you can’t sell your way out of a pickle, you don’t have a chance.”
She said if an entrepreneur can demonstrate he or she is a master of selling themselves and their business on “Shark Tank,” she’ll “buy anything.”
But, Barbara explained that getting on the show is not a true test of success even though it’s an arduous vetting process.
“When I’m in business with someone three months, maybe four months the most, it’s when the crap hits the fan, what do they do about it? The minute they start blaming somebody else, I know they’re a victim, they’re never going to make it,” she said.
On the flip side, Corcoran told Connolly and Carousso that those owners who take responsibility and actively look for solutions, are the successful business leaders with whom she is making profits.
She also told WCBS 880 that the model for a successful entrepreneur is their track record as a person. Overcoming failure and obstacles in life is an indication to Corcoran that she should invest in the person’s business.
“When I can spot somebody who’s been injured with something to prove, they get a burn in their chest that’s going to make them succeed if they’re hard workers,” she remarked. “I’m looking for that hustler.”
Meanwhile, with tens of millions of Americans unemployed amid the COVID-19 outbreak and business shutdowns, Corcoran is seeing a sizable shift in the real estate market with people fleeing the City for suburbs in New Jersey and Connecticut. The Corcoran Group owner says employers see their employees working efficiently at home and will cut unnecessary brick and mortar costs. U.S. office vacancy will rise from 16.8 percent to 19.4 percent by year’s end, according to Moody’s Analytics REIS estimates. Corcoran sees that as good news for tenants who have taken negotiating power from landlords.
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“The value per foot has got to drop substantially for the landlord to attract tenants and he’s going to have to become a salesman,” she said.
But, Barbara is bullish on the Big Apple.
“I have such confidence in the City. I have no doubt that the City will chug like it always does. We’re just going to hesitate and push forward,” Corcoran, who has lived in New York since she was 22 years old, said, punctuating, “I think it may recover faster than we think.”
She remembers seeing how the country rallied around New York City after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the “love” Americans displayed while embracing their fellow countrymen and women. She recalled she told her Corcoran Group sales team the real estate market would get “hot within 6 months” and it did with a new crop of buyers.
“I had that deep faith that the City always recovers,” said Corcoran.
Hear innovative and actionable ideas from Barbara Corcoran for business survival with examples from “Shark Tank” on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Prez To Landlords, Tenants Amid Economic Turmoil: ‘Work It Out’
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Randy Peers says businesses have received “no relief” from commercial landlords in the borough during the coronavirus pandemic.
Citing data from the Chamber on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, Peers tells Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso that 46 percent of businesses missed rent payments in May and only 21 percent of those surveyed received a concession from their landlords.
“I still think there’s some degree of denial on behalf of the real estate industry about what the long-term impact’s going to be,” Peers said, adding, “If you’re a smart landlord and you’ve had, for the most part, good tenants who’ve paid on time and have been good businesses in your space, you should do everything you can to work it out.”
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce leader says three factors “should give landlords pause” before denying rent relief even when landlords are struggling to pay their own bills in the widespread economic downturn brought on by the business shutdowns amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Those factors include a “retail vacancy crisis” that started prior to the pandemic, leading to a supply surplus of commercial space. That is more prevalent with the shift to work from home and the implementation of digital tools in industries that had resisted technological advancements. And, Peers said a third of local businesses in Brooklyn might not recover from the shutdowns, meaning there will be less demand for commercial space.
He said landlords should realize businesses will scale back their brick and mortar footprint. Therefore, they and their tenants should find mutual solutions to the economic turmoil because they may not have companies interested in renting their properties.
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce recently launched a no-interest loan program after finding 84 percent of Brooklyn businesses that applied for the Federal Payment Protection Payment (PPP) loans, intended for small businesses, were unable to access funds for overhead costs.
“Once we give out a loan [and> it’s paid back, it goes back into the fund and we can help even more businesses,” Peers said of The Bring Back Brooklyn Fund that is raising money through donors online.
He described it as an investment in the community.
“Economic development of today is about attracting and retaining talent,” Peers said. “The more creative people that you can cultivate, both who are already there and living there, and the more that you can attract, you’re going to be more equipped for a knowledge-based economy, which is really the transformation that the United States has gone through.”
Peers believes Brooklyn businesses can team-up with their diverse community as they grappled with vandalism and looting from the protests for racial equality stemming from the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota.
“The majority of small businesses in Brooklyn are owned by minorities, women and immigrants. They tackle it from a different perspective,” he said, noting owners can offer opportunities through employment.
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“Economic empowerment of communities of color is key and critical,” Peers said as the Chamber encourages companies to hire people within their communities.
Brooklyn has excelled in innovation, punctuated by the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s war-like manufacturing effort to help New York City combat the coronavirus.
“We’re second only to San Francisco in terms of new tech startups,” said Peers. “We’ve attracted innovators, we’ve attracted skilled workers and we’ve really had people who have taken risks and made investments in our communities.”
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce president told WCBS 880 he believes that entrepreneurial spirit and resilience is needed in the recovery as New York City enters phase one of reopening next week.
“COVID can temporarily kind of hold us back, but I think when we come out of this, we’re going to be a better community, we’re going to be a better Brooklyn, and we’re going to be even more creative and innovative than we were before,” Peers said.
Hear ideas for how communities can survive the economic crisis and thrive on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or the media player above.
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