Long Island small businesses bring a positive spotlight to the area
Times are undoubtedly hard these days for the local Long Island community. However, in the face of adversity, three different Long Island businesses have beaten the odds.
These standouts are Greek Bites in Moriches, Beau’s Bar in Greenlawn, and Borrelli’s Restaurant Cafe & Pizzeria in East Meadow.
The first local business, Greek Bites, survives not from a donation but purely from their innovative business model.
It is a restaurant that depends almost solely on the takeout model. Merely holding a walk-up counter and food served in a to-go bag format positioned just off the Montauk Highway.
Since the pandemic, their infrastructure is well prepared for the influx of takeout orders. Allowing the local joint to thrive in ways that other businesses have not been able to do.
Another notable business that has found a way to stay afloat is Beau’s Bar in Greenlawn.
Within the past month, it appeared as though they would have to close their doors permanently after not being able to have guests for a significant amount of time.
They run on a Grateful Dead theme throughout the bar giving it a unique alternative feel. Many refer to it as the venue for “deadheads.” The Bobble Boss corporation decided to step in and help the temporarily closed bar.
“In these uncertain times, one thing is certain, and that is deadheads help each other when we can,” said Andrew Hazen, CEO of Bobble Boss. “We’ve got to keep Beau’s wheels turning and to help Beau’s Bar. We are donating $5 with each Grateful Dead product we sell on our websites from now until the end of February.”
Additionally, a GoFundMe was opened to assist the bar for the pandemic’s duration, thus far raising over 23-thousand dollars.
The final business, Borelli’s, may have made the biggest splash out of everyone in terms of national news.
The local joint has served Long Island since 1955, but in a conversation with the restaurant’s owner, Frank Borrelli, he made it clear that he worried they would have to close their doors as soon as January of 2021.
“Borrelli’s has been a very busy restaurant for the last 65 years,” Borrelli said. “So we need high volume just to be able to break even, pay our staff, and pay our taxes.”
At this point, Barstool founder and CEO Dave Portnoy stepped up to save the local joint as they went on to be the first recipients of the Barstool Fund.
“If [Portnoy] didn’t help us out with the fund money,” Borrelli continued. “We would have had to lock our doors for at least the winter.”
Since that viral moment, Borrelli expressed that the complexity of his business has completely changed. Giving him customers that would have likely otherwise been out of reach.
“Lately 70% of the people that come in are people who saw me on tv or heard about the Barstool fund,” Borrelli said. “They’re supporting us and donating meals.”
Food donations are an initiative that he had focused on even when times were tough for his restaurant.
“I started trying to raise money for people at the Inn, a food bank in Hempstead. As well as feeding first responders by getting donations,” Borrelli said. “So I was charging $10 a meal and raising money that way. I did that April, May, and June when Covid started.”
His time and energy have gone on to provide thousands of hungry Long Islanders and first responders with meals since the pandemic began. But his story has benefitted many others on a national scale as the first recipient in what would become the Barstool fund.
“The first week [Barstool] sold Borrelli’s hoodies and sweatshirts with support your local businesses on it,” Borrelli said. “That week alone, they sold $400,000 worth of merchandise. It didn’t go to Borrelli’s, but it went to helping other small businesses.”
But that money was just a launch point as many other promotions and have expanded the Barstool fund to a total of $35 million.
“It sounds like a lot of money, but the United States has so many small businesses that need help,” Borrelli said. “I think he has 300 or more small businesses right now. That stretches from Bowling Alley’s to taxi companies and hair salons.”
Even though Borrelli is beginning to improve financially, he still has his eye on helping others reach a similar state.
At all levels, the support of local businesses within the Long Island area is notable. From the structure of the business to grassroots local support to national-level support.
