COVID-19 gives small business owners big problems

Sydney Roker, Staff Writer

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone differently. Small business owners, many of whom are parents of Samo students, have been hit especially hard. Mandatory closures and labor shortages are only some of the challenges that they have faced. Reading the stories of Samo students whose parents own small businesses helps shed some light on these challenges.

Colapasta

Stefano DeLorenzo, the father of Lusia DeLorenzo (’25), owns a small Italian restaurant called Colapasta. He started the restaurant shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. DeLorenzo, the former chef and owner of the upscale, Michelin-star rated La Botte, wanted to open a restaurant that was more casual and affordable. In came Colapasta, born as a small Fifth Street storefront in downtown Santa Monica with a menu centered around a variety of pastas, ranging from lasagna, to gnocchi, to gluten free penne pasta. 

The way in which Colapasta was affected by the pandemic seems to mirror the experiences of many other restaurant owners who either had to close down or scale back their businesses temporarily. 

“Before COVID-19, we had lines out the door for a table. When the pandemic started, we were only doing take out orders and my dad was the only one running the whole restaurant,” Lusia DeLorenzo said. 

DeLorenzo went on to explain that the restaurant would only get a few takeout orders a day, until customers started to become more comfortable with eating out again. However, Colapasta’s fortunes seem to have improved as they received the prestigious Bib Gourmand award from the annual Michelin Guide in September.

Quality Rubber Stamps

The DeLorenzos aren’t the only ones who have had their business go through many ups and downs since March of 2020. The family of Sadie Lovett (’23) has owned a local stamp business since 1977. Quality Rubber Stamps is a shop located in Downtown Santa Monica that makes rubber stamps, engraved signs and name tags. 

The Lovett business is a prime example of how drastically COVID-19 has impacted small businesses. Because many people have been working from home, fewer people in offices have been using rubber stamps, causing a sharp decline in the number of orders the store has been receiving.

“The pandemic has resulted in more people being scared to go out in public and come into the store,” Sadie Lovett said.

The effects of COVID-19 on this business were exacerbated by the events of May 31, 2020, when the family business was a victim of the lootings that took place around Santa Monica. The Lovetts’ storefront glass panes were shattered and the business was forced to shut down for a month. Fortunately, the store was able to repair the damage and overcome this additional hurdle and is now open for business.

Lime Studios

Mark Meyhuas, the father of Eli Meyuhas (’23) owns Lime Studios, a local recording studio in Santa Monica. Lime studios is a post-production studio that specializes in handling sound for commercials and does voice overs, mixing and sound editing. Like many businesses, Lime Studios had to change how they conducted business at the start of COVID-19. The company had to conduct sessions without clients for the first 9 months of the pandemic.

“At the beginning of COVID-19 they stopped doing in-person sessions so everything was done remotely,” Eli Meyuhas said. 

Even though it may have struggled initially as business slowed in the first few months of the pandemic, the studio is an example of a business that was able to thrive after working its way through a prior adjustment period. Toward the end of 2020, Lime Studios was able to return to in-person sessions and the studio billed even more than they had in the previous year.

Stefano DeLorenzo, Samo parent and small business owner, rolls fresh pasta dough.

LA Times / Contributor

Previous
Previous

An insider guide to the beloved pumpkin spice latte

Next
Next

Olivia Landon fights for passenger equality on the Big Blue Bus