Page 26 - BusinessWest February 3, 2021

Jake’s owner Alex Washut says it might be a while before his two locations (this one in Amherst) are packed with patrons again.
restaurant he’s operated in downtown Easthampton for the past five years. The first evolution had to do with meeting customer needs. “We’re part of the food chain,” he said. “We have
a lot of customers who don’t go to the supermarket. And we were like, ‘they’re going to be putting themselves at risk going to the supermarket as opposed to getting to-go.’
“So we went to the radio station and created an ad talking about ‘Casey’s comfort food,’” he went on. “And we switched to all a la carte, basic stuff
— mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, roasted chicken, meatloaf — and we were cranking.”
So much that, when he secured a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, he first thought he wouldn’t need it. “Then a couple weeks went by, and we said, ‘thank goodness we got that.’ It changed so quickly.”
Sales dropped to about 45% of what they once were, but he kept 70% of the labor on board, because that’s the main purpose of the PPP program. That money got Galaxy through the end of June. Then things got rough.
After losing a couple of cooks to unemployment, the restaurant cut back from five days a week to four, and when summer rolled around, fewer customers wanted takeout, but out- door dining wasn’t a draw, either.
Fall brought a reprieve of sorts, with the milder, less-humid weather boost- ing outdoor dining, but the winter
has been exceptionally tricky. Indoor dining didn’t prove to be a workable option; in a space that seats fewer than 50, the governor’s current 25% capac- ity mandate is especially onerous, and Douglass and his team also felt indoor dining might not be safe — or, at least, feel safe — for a clientele that skews older than some restaurants.
So as winter wears on, Douglass is pressing on with takeout only — now
“We’re just looking at survival at this point. We’re efficient at what we do, but we’re losing about $15,000 a month. And that’s not going to be able to continue.”
a hybrid of the comfort-food concept and the creative American meals he’s known for — a bank loan, and plenty of grit.
“We’re just looking at survival at this point,” he said, noting that costs like food, loan interest, utilities, and equip- ment leases don’t just go away when sales are down. “We’re efficient at what we do, but we’re losing about $15,000 a month. And that’s not going to be able to continue.”
However, he insisted, “I do think the spring will increase sales a couple thousand dollars a week, and that’s all it takes. We’ll be fine.”
Evolving to a takeout model was jarring at first to Washut, especially since his two locations — an 1800s-era building in Northampton and a new, modern structure in North Amherst’s Mill District — are so different, with a different set of clientele, and not cook- ie-cutter businesses like quick-service chains.
“We didn’t know how to be a take-
Restaurants
Continued on page 43
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