[MUSIC]
We've always been very involved in this community.
We've been here for 50 years.
So we've seen it go through a lot of different transitions.
And COVID for
us was the perfect storm because it just hit at the worst possible time.
We just went through the process of moving and we got to,
I can't remember the specific day that we closed, I wanna say March 15th.
But for us like that's where the year really starts.
January and February are slow.
March you have St. Patrick's Day which kicks off graduation season,
Red Sox season, Marathon Monday.
So we got like, just to that point, survived the worst part of the year.
And then the rug was pulled out from under us.
So when the BU students came back, for us,
it was at first a little bit scary, but also exciting to have people back.
They took a big risk.
And for us who,
on any given day probably 70% of the people that are in here are BU people.
It gives us a higher level of comfort knowing that they're part of that
community.
And that they are being tested so frequently.
I don't know if it saved our business but probably 70% of our revenue is BU related
right now, because there's nobody else working or living in the neighborhood.
[MUSIC]
>> So pandemic struck in March.
In April we were at the beginning of a bike boom,
a lot of people didn't wanna take the train.
People wanted to get outside and they couldn't go to the gym.
One thing they realized they could do is still ride a bike.
Having said that,
the flipside of the pandemic problem is it really killed our supply chain.
So you know, a lot of people wanted to get bikes but we weren't always able to
provide that for people because getting parts from China is a real challenge.
So it's absolutely been hard.
Especially the first half of this pandemic to July, was working six days a week and
we'd leave here at 11 o'clock or midnight.
But the phone was off the hook which is good that people wanna get to know their
community on a bike, and wanna get outside.
And I think you're really seeing the importance of really very simple forms of
exercise.
I really feel lucky that we're open.
I feel lucky that I can make people's days better.
And I genuinely feel proud of how well we've adapted, and really stayed positive.
And that we really are providing people something they really, really need.
[MUSIC]
>> So we opened a little over three years ago, August 2017.
For so long gaming was considered this anti-social thing.
You always heard of people saying, good gamer just sitting in his mom's basement
but he was online with other people, playing with other people.
And there was just nowhere to go and be with other people who share that passion.
And that's really what this place has always been about.
We've always been very conscious about cleanliness.
Every time someone gets up, we wipe down the setup with Purell Wipes,
headset, keyboard and everything.
But now we've extended even further, we've got hand sanitizing stations, we set up
all the registers to be all touch free pay, the bathrooms are now all touch free.
Employees are always wiping hands, wearing gloves during transactions and everything.
So it's really stepping up cleanliness to another level to make sure people are as
safe as possible, not only our customers but our employees as well.
Lockdown was definitely really tough for the business.
And now that students are back, it's definitely up a bit but
people don't wanna go out as much and that's completely understandable.
So we've been okay for now.
We still have a loyal group of regulars we see, who know that they're safe here.
And that's what we're always hoping to do is make people as happy as can be
when they're here and that they wanna come back.
[MUSIC]
>> So I was 28 when we started in 76.
And we've been over 40 years in business here.
So as you can see the pictures on the wall, there's a lot of history there.
My wife's here, she's the one that cooks the lasagna and certain things.
And my kids are here,
if my kids weren't here I probably wouldn't still be here at this age.
So we're lucky we're in the situation that we can do pickup and delivery.
There's some restaurants that do way more business than needs.
These are sit down places, they don't have even a fighting chance.
So I mean, we're fortunate that we're in that niche of the market.
We're also fortunate we own the building.
That's a big plus cuz a lot of people are suffering, the rent.
I mean, I had a small cut in staff, but I didn't lay off any major people or
stuff like that.
When we came in 76, believe it or not, from the BU Bridge to Packard square,
there were like three restaurants in 76.
There's like 20 odd places now.
I mean, I don't know how many people are gonna make it but
hopefully people coming back and filling the buildings again.
But in the short term, you're gonna have to keep on adjusting and
seeing what happens.
And so there's no easy answer, but you just have to, I don't know,
it's like a boxing match.
[LAUGH]