Pizzerias see more deliveries, less dough during coronavirus pandemic

Rami Hamrouni owns Primavera, an Italian restaurant with locations in Downtown Fredericksburg and Celebrate Virginia in Stafford County.

His business has taken a dip since the coronavirus outbreak. Like most restaurants across the state, he’s closed his dining rooms. Customers can still pick up food, but instead of coming to the counter, the restaurant has set up a table six feet away from the counter where the food is placed for pickup.

The delivery has picked up, and, like the national chains such as Dominos, Rami and his drivers are practicing contactless delivery to prevent the potential transmission of the coronavirus. That’s where drivers leave the Pizza on the doorstep for the customer to retrieve.

But finances are now tight, and Rami has laid off two employees and reduced hours for those who remain.

Benny Vitale’s on Caroline Street in Downtown Fredericksburg has also adapted to the pandemic. They’re still doing decent business, especially on weekends, and the orders of whole pies have increased.

They also have curbside pickup not just for whole pies but for individual slices, as well as alcoholic beverages, which is only now possible since Virginia ABC has relaxed regulations to allow for curbside alcohol pickup.

Their dining room is still open but has minimal seating, of no more than 10 people.

“We’re still at full staff, but we have no more than 10 people dining. Sometimes four or five diners depending on how many staff we have working,” said Assistant Manager Daniel Kost.

Marco’s Pizza, a national chain, operates a location on Town and Country Road in Stafford County. They expected good sales but the pandemic has changed things, and sales expectations have fallen.

According to the location’s Assistant Manager Jessica Parker, the dining room has been closed to customers, and carryout is hit or miss. Marco’s has seen the number of pizza deliveries increase, but keeping drivers has become a concern, and there’s the uncertainty of what’s going to happen as the economic recession spurred by the pandemic continues. Still, Parker hopes that business will increase once the epidemic has subsided.