MILWAUKEE — Just as restaurants are bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic, they now have new challenges.
Inflation, worker shortages and supply chain issues are just a few of the obstacles creating uncertainty.
Gino Fazzari operates Calderone Club and San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana in Milwaukee.
His family has operated Italian restaurants in the Milwaukee area for more than six decades.
Despite the economic challenges they’re now facing, Fazzari said he won’t compromise on the quality of the food he serves.
“I think inflation is affecting all businesses, not just the restaurant business, but I will say that it is affecting the restaurant business just a little bit more than most,” said Fazzari.
Fazzari is paying 30-50% more for ingredients compared to last year.
He’s also constantly wondering if his ingredients will arrive on time due to continuing supply chain issues.
But Fazzari said he refuses to reduce portion sizes or use less costly ingredients.
A Culinary Institute of America graduate, Fazzari said he’s loyal to his Italian heritage and his parents. They started the business after moving here from Italy.
“My father and my mother worked very hard. They came to this country literally with the shirts on their backs to build these restaurants,” said Fazzari.
Post-COVID, business is finally picking up. People are dining out again, and downtown events are boosting business.
Even so, it’s tough finding workers. Fazzari said he’s paying higher wages for entry-level positions.
“People have left this industry, whether it’s because they want to work less on the weekends, or the hours aren’t the best in the restaurant industry. I’m not sure why, but I think everybody is feeling that it’s tough to staff the restaurants,” he said.
Next door to Calderone Club, Fazzari operates San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana.
Calderone Club serves authentic regional Italian cuisine and San Giorgio specializes in Neapolitan Pizza, prepared in a wood-fired oven.
San Giorgio is VPN-certified. That’s a designation requiring only specific ingredients to be used.
“We talked about the [price] increase in ingredients, right? Do you know how much we’ve had in shipping costs in our real Italian authentic products from Italy? It’s astronomical,” said Fazzari.
It’s a price he’s committed to paying to keep the tradition of his craft alive.
