NORWICH – Being a newly opened restaurant when a pandemic hits might be a disaster for some businesses, but Angela’s has managed to remain open thanks to its loyal customers and authentic flavors.
Angela’s is located at 6142 NY-12 in the Town of Norwich, and has been in business for more than a year. Some of their most popular dishes include the grandma’s pie pizza, penne a la vodka, and a variety of salads including barbecue and Buffalo salads.
The business opened just a few months before the pandemic hit, but has been able to stay open despite the challenges brought by COVID-19.
Angela’s owner Angela Titus said while her business is relatively new, her family has been in the Norwich area for more than 20 years, and that isn’t changing any time soon.
“I love being a part of this community, because I originally came from Long Island where the community is very large, and you don’t really get to know people the same way you do here,” said Titus. “Everyone here has been so supportive, and it’s nice to do something I’ve been doing since I was a teenager.”
Titus said learning from her father has enabled her to do more with her own business, and that she has been in the food industry basically her entire working life.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 16-years-old, and this is all I know,” she said. “My family has owned several businesses throughout my life, and when the opportunity came to open my own I took it.”
“I love working here every day, this is a job that makes me happy and lets me spend time with my family, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
She added that the secret to her authentic foods comes from her father, who has been in the food industry for more than 30 years, and that good food mixed with positive customer service has helped her business immensely during the pandemic.
“When the pandemic first hit, it was just me, my brother, my husband, my niece, my nephew, and one worker, and when we shut down I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Titus. “I didn’t know what was going on and we just had the mindset that we would work through it and do what we had to do.”
“When it was time to slowly start opening again, some of my workers came back, and then we started rolling again, but I realized that I couldn’t have people in the dining room because if one of us gets sick then we may have to shut down for even longer.”
Titus said that without being asked by the Chenango County Health Department or any other government official she swapped to take out only to help limit the potential threat to herself or her team.
She said another result of the pandemic was a series of layoffs, but that when the time came for people to return some individuals didn’t want to return to work because of the unemployment benefits.
“I had to lay some people off but some people didn’t want to come back because they made more money there, and it is what it is,” she added. “The people that did want to come back I had to limit hours for because we just couldn’t afford to have everyone here full-time with the dining room closed.”
“This meant that for the people that were still here, we had a lot more we needed to do ourselves.”
She said as a way of thanking the customers that do come in regularly to support them, Angela’s has a weekly drawing for $25 gift cards for three people. She said initially she had intended for it to be a short-term gesture of thanks, but she decided to keep it going with all of the overwhelming support from the community.
“Every week we give back to the community, and I started it maybe five or six months ago,” said Titus. “Originally I was only going to do it for a couple of weeks, but then I thought you know what, as long as people are supporting me I’m going to keep giving back and supporting them.”
“Nobody has jobs like they did, the economy went down, a lot of people don’t have the money to spend like they did, and the ones that do have been coming out to support us which means a lot.”
Titus said with the call volume, especially on Friday, orders can take longer to deliver to customers. She said that is in large part due to the fresh ingredients and classic cooking techniques her business uses.
“Without the customers I wouldn’t be here, and I want to make sure they know they’re getting the freshest, best quality food we can give them,” Titus added. “When you order something and it’s a Friday night and you’re waiting, it’s because you’re getting fresh food.”
“People take shortcuts with food, and those shortcuts aren’t going to make their food taste any better.”
According to Titus, the pandemic has really shown that the people in this area want to see other people succeed, and that being grateful for them and prioritizing good food can really make a difference.
“What I’ve learned throughout this whole thing is to just be grateful for your customers and your family,” said Titus. “I know without either Angela’s wouldn’t be here right now.”
Anyone who is interested in learning more about Angela’s may visit their facebook page or reach out at (607) 373-4333.