How a Twenty-Five-Year-Old Neighborhood Restaurant Is Coping with COVID-19

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.

[New Yorker jingle][somber music]- It's affected us tremendouslybecause we didn't havea to-go platform at all,so you know, we go from beingthe rock of the neighborhood,busy, to zero.It is Saturday, 3:30, itall looks like, you know.We owned Il Posto Accanto since 1999,but we've been on the block since 1995.Hello, my little petunias, how are you?What's going in?I hope you are in good spiritbecause whatever it is being in bad spiritis not going to solve anything.I mean, I am sayingthis, and I'm the slaveto our wonderful PostoAccanto that we don't knowif we're gonna open or close.Post Accanto's been openthrough thick and thin, 9/11.We had to close during Sandy,but you know, we're open, we've been open.We've been open because weare everybody's living room,and we're really, really,really, really worriedabout what is going to happen.But you know what, wehave no control over it,so we stay calm.Last Monday, we were supposedto be open until Tuesday,and then it was likeMonday cut at 8:00 pm,and it's only takeout and deliveries.We cut the hours, of course, of the staff.We are not paying ourselves at all.We are not gonna beable to pay the landlordor the sales taxes or anything.Every penny that wemake goes for the staff.Our staff has been with us forever.It's our family, andevery day we ask them,"Do you feel comfortable coming?"When they're not gonnafeel 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 peopledownstairs at the kitchen,they're not here, and two preppeople, and they're not here.We have one person in thekitchen, and one person prepping.That's it, and us.Babycakes, [foreign language].Sanitizing station.People walk in and they cansanitize with my lovely littlethat we have many, manybottles of it, spray.And we spray everything every time,and we've been doing iteven before the close down.Every time somebody would leave a table,we would do the table, dothe chairs, do everything.- [Julio] Do the menus.- Do the menus,we still do the menus ifsomebody touched them,and it smells divine.This is our little setup.Willy loves the sanitizers.He does this in the morning.- All the chairs get done.- [Beatrice] Noon, and night.And then Willy and I havebeen a little bit at oddswith one thing, which is, Willy?What are you gonna do?- I'm gonna spray the walls.[Beatrice laughs]Make sure everyone is safe.- [Beatrice] And then he does it.I'm like, "Willy, don't spray the wall."You're gonna kill us all?"He's like, he does it anyone.- Keep everybody safe.- [Beatrice] Yes.- 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 firstorder through DoorDash.We don't work with them, butI guess they have our menuon their site, and you canorder and they'll pick it upand bring it to your housein case you want to stay homeand Netflix and chill inthese interesting momentsthat we're in.We are open tonight, butwe totally understandif you want to stay homewith your loved onesand watch Netflex.Let's all be safe, wash ourhands, and love one anotherwith air hugs.Bea and I love you and therest of the gang do tooand we hope to see you soon.Sorry about my closeup, bye.DoorDash was the only one right nowthat would allow us towork with them for 30 dayswithout charging the feesthat normally all the other apps charge,which is upwards of 20%,and it's something thatit's not affordablebecause whatever monieswe're trying to makeis to pay our staff so they canmaintain with their familiesbecause restaurant industry.Everybody works, day to day, week to week.I wish that the appcompanies would considerat least til this or forwhatever period of timeputting away their feesso that small businessescan help their community.- [Beatrice] The neighborhoodhas been stellar.People that are not in the neighborhoodhave been buying gift certificate,and people in the neighborhoodhave been picking up the food, take out.- So kids, Beatrice toldme 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 thathave been ordering todayand the gift certificate purchases,and you don't know how much itmeans to us and to our staff,and we're just gonna keeppushing as we always do.We're all New Yorkers,and we love everybody, andthank you for being partof our tribe and I hopeI give you some giggleswith the crooked mustache.- One day at a time.That's it, you can't worry yourself.We have no power overwhat is gonna happen.Today we're open and we're serving food.Tomorrow en challah,hopefully we're gonna be openand serving food, and that's all we can doand that's all we know, andthen let's see what happens.Are we gonna be here, we don't know.We hope so.We've been here since the 1999, 1995.We want to be here.