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How a Twenty-Five-Year-Old Neighborhood Restaurant Is Coping with Coronavirus

As the coronavirus shutdown spreads to New York City restaurants, Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta and her husband, Julio Pena, struggle to keep their restaurant, Il Posto Accanto, operational.

Released on 03/24/2020


[gently chiming bells]

[gentle music]

It's affected us tremendously because we

didn't have a to-go platform at all.

So, we go from,

being the rock of the neighborhood, busy, to zero.

It is Saturday 3:30, it all looks like.

We own Il Posto Accanto since 1999

but we've been on the block since 1995.

Hello my little petunias, how are you?

So what's going on, I hope you are in good spirit

because whatever it is, being in bad spirit

is not gonna solve anything.

I mean, i am saying this and I'm all,

and I'm the slave to our wonderful Posto Accanto

that we don't know if we gonna open or close.

Posto Accanto's been open through thick and thin, 9/11,

we have to close during Sunday, but we're open,

we've been open, we've been open because we are

everybody's living room and we're really, really,

really, really worried about what is going to happen.

But you know what, we have no control over it.

So, we stay calm.

Last Monday, we were supposed to be open until Tuesday.

And then it was like Monday cut at 8:00 PM

and it's only take out and deliveries.

We cut the hours of course, of the staff.

We are not paying ourselves at all.

We're not gonna be able to pay the landlord

or the sales tax. Taxes or any

of these things. or anything.

Every penny that we make goes for the staff.

Our staff has been with us forever, it's our family.

And every day we ask them, Do you feel comfortable coming?

When they're not going to feel comfortable coming,

we close down.

The person that serves brunch is not here.

The person that bus brunch is not here.

We would have two people downstairs at the kitchen,

they're not here, and two prep people, and they're not here.

We have one person in the kitchen and one person prepping.

That's it, and us.

Baby cakes [speaking in foreign language]

Sanitizing station.

So people walk in and they can sanitize

with my lovely little, that we have many,

many bottles of it ,spray.

And we spray everything, every time.

And we've been doing it even before the close down.

Every time somebody would leave a table,

we would do the tables, do the chairs,

do everything Do the menus.

Do the menus.

We still do the menus if somebody touch them,

and it smells divine.

So this is our little setup.

Willy loves the sanitizers.

He does this in the morning

All the chairs get done.

Noon and night.

And then Willy and I have been a little bit at odds

with one thing, which is,

Willy, what you gonna do?

[laughs loudly]

I'm gonna spray the walls.

[laughs loudly]

Make sure everything is safe.

[laughs loudly]

I'm like, Willy, don't spray the wall!

You gonna kill us all!

He does it anyway.

Everybody is safe.


Good evening petunias, it is I, Baby Cakes.

Here in the bowels of Beatrice's office, that's her office.

Just a little public service announcement cause we

just got our first order through DoorDash.

We don't work with them, but I guess they have

our menu on their site and you can order

and they will pick it up and bring it to your house

in case you want to stay home and Netflix and Chill

in these interesting moments that we're in.

We are open tonight but we totally understand

if you wanna stay home with your loved ones

and watch Netflix.

Let's all be safe, wash our hands

and love one another with air hugs.

Bea and I love you and the rest of the gang do too,

and we hope to see you soon.

Sorry about my close up, bye.

DoorDash was the only one right now

that would allow us to work with them for 30 days

without charging the fees that normally all

the other apps charge which is upwards of 20%.

And it's something that it's not affordable,

because whatever moneys we're trying to make

is to pay our staff, so that they can maintain

with their families, because restaurant industry,

everybody works day-to-day, week-to-week.

So, I wish that the app companies would consider,

at least till this, or for whatever period of time,

putting away their fees so that small businesses

can help their community.

The neighborhood has been stellar.

People that are not in the neighborhood

have been buying gift certificate

and people in the neighborhood have been

picking up the food, takeout.

So kids, Beatrice told me to make some fun videos

this is the most fun I can give you.

It's me and my new crooked mustache.

We thank all of you that have been ordering today

and the gift certificate purchases

and you don't know how much it means to us and to our staff,

and we are just going to keep pushing as we always do.

And we are all New Yorkers and we love everybody

and thank you for being part of our tribe.

And I hope I give you some giggles

with the crooked mustache.

One day at a time, that's it.

You can't worry yourself with,

we have no power over what is gonna happen.

Today, we are open and we're serving food.

Tomorrow inshallah, hopefully we gonna be open

and serving food.

And that's all we can do and that's all we know.

And then let's see what happens, you know.

How are we gonna to be here?

We don't know, we hope so,

We've been here since 1999, 1995.

We want to be here.

[gentle music]