Alarm bells sound for beloved LaBrasca’s, as owner warns COVID-19 could be their end
LaBrasca’s survived Columbia’s historic flood of 2015. But the coronavirus pandemic is proving to be a greater challenge for the iconic pizza restaurant, and it’s struggling to stay afloat.
“This COVID virus is winning. I’m watching it close and kill so many businesses,” said Milly Wilson, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Brett.
She worries LaBrasca’s could be the next victim.
“It’s just sad watching the small guys being squeezed out because we don’t have millions and millions of dollars being thrown at us from big corporations,” she said. “We don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to do this.”
Wilson shared her concerns about the restaurant’s future in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, saying she was “not sure how much longer we can hold our heads above the water.” Her post has now been shared hundreds of times, with LaBrasca’s fans calling out to their friends to support local businesses.
The day after she posted on Facebook, LaBrasca’s saw a rush of customers. “I almost started crying a couple times,” she said Wednesday. “People are like, ‘We love you.’”
LaBrasca’s is a Columbia institution, serving pizzas and its signature “cheese salad” on Fort Jackson Boulevard since 1966. Brett and Milly both worked there growing up; he was her high school crush.
The Wilsons bought the business in 1998, and it’s been their life ever since, Milly said.
“We have stories just like all the customers have stories. It’s family,” she said. “It’s not something we want to lose.”
The hospitality industry has suffered badly nationwide and in South Carolina since early this spring. Most restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms for several weeks this spring under an order by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster in an effort to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus. But many restaurants also chose to close ahead of the governor’s order and to stay closed even longer due to fears of spreading the virus on top of the economic impracticality of serving few customers.
Recovery has been slow for most.
Restaurants including LaBrasca’s have adapted to a new demand for takeout service as many diners are cautious to return to closed-in dining rooms. Takeout business has been strong, and the dining room is open, but it’s not been enough for LaBrasca’s to make up for the skyrocketing costs it’s facing these days, Wilson said.
From disposable utensils and dishes to face masks to the very ingredients the restaurant relies on — cheese! — LaBrasca’s costs have tripled because of the pandemic, Wilson estimates. Meanwhile, its income is about half of what it normally sees, she said.
Plus, the restaurant also lost out on a chunk of income it normally makes at the S.C. State Fair, which was canceled because of the pandemic.
“When we have to start taking money out of our personal accounts just to pay the bills here, that’s when it stops working. And that’s what’s going on,” Wilson said.
The Wilsons aren’t begging for help, and they don’t want sympathy or handouts, Milly said. They just want their customers back. And like everyone, they want a return to normal, somehow.
“We want to be like it was. I mean, I know it’s never going to go back to normal,” Wilson said. But, she added, “Don’t give up on us. ... You only miss what you’ve got when it’s gone. We don’t want to go anywhere.”
