This month the Sacramento MBDA Export Center is highlighting a family-owned restaurant of a Chubby’s Diner in Fresno, California. As the nation has experienced since the start of the year, many industries were impacted by COVID-19. The restaurant business in particular was an industry hit the hardest. However, some have demonstrated business resiliency through the current state of the world. In these times, even minor wins can be the determining factor in a restaurant’s ability to keep the doors open and business running. In this month’s highlight, we celebrate such a business: a family-owned, Chubby’s Diner managed by two parents and their daughter.
This Chubby’s Diner restaurant – like others – had a reduction in business and a series of struggles that followed when the stay-at-home order was enacted. In an effort to respond to the mandate, but stay in business, the family attempted to enter into the digital space by incorporating online, third-party food delivery business services, such as Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats. However, the fees to use these services reached upwards of 30 percent of the customer checks – a change significant enough to affect the profit margins of a business their size. Ultimately, the family decided to forego implementing an online delivery service, and instead trusted that their clientele would visit and order take-out just enough to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Which, thus far, they have. Additionally, the family-owned diner was recently approved for the Fresno hub grant, a $5,000 grant from the County of Fresno to help underserved businesses.
Through the support of loyal patrons, and government fiscal awards, this Chubby’s Diner remains optimistic about staying open, and adapting to stay relevant in a vastly changing time. Nonetheless, the Sacramento MBDA Export Center celebrates this small business this month for their perseverance. Cheers!