Struggling restaurant offers to sell their pasta after customers abandoned them amid coronavirus panic
- The Via Della Spiga Italian restaurant in North Sydney is selling pasta for $5
- Owner, Jennifer Michaels, 44, said it helps her business as they are struggling
- She said customers are happy as stock of pasta is low within supermarkets
- Many businesses across Australia have seen a massive decrease in customers
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A struggling Italian restaurant has resorted to selling their pasta after business plummeted amid coronavirus panic.
Jennifer Michaels, 44, owner of the Via Della Spiga, in north Sydney, is selling packs of pasta and rice for $5 each with no limits per customer.
Supermarkets have faced massive shortages of products, including pasta, rice, vegetables and toilet paper, due to mass panic buying and businesses are struggling to keep their doors open.
Owner of the North Sydney Italian restaurant Via Della Spiga, Jennifer Michaels, 44, (pictured with her husband and son) is selling packs of pasta and rice for $5 each with no limits per customer
‘We know Woolworths has a product shortage of pasta, and everyone is shopping like crazy, so why not sell it?’ Mrs Michaels said (pictured: Pasta sale signs outside Via Della Spiga)
Mrs Michaels spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her decision to start selling pasta and rice to customers.
‘We know Woolworths has a product shortage of pasta, and everyone is shopping like crazy, so why not sell it?’ Mrs Michaels said.
‘Customers are saying ”thank god” because there is no pasta at Woolworths or Coles.’
Mrs Michael’s restaurant has experienced a ‘dramatic’ dip in dine-in customers since the coronavirus pandemic began.
She said selling the pasta has really helped her business stay afloat.
‘We are selling more pasta and sauces, such as bolognese and pesto, than serving customers in the restaurant.
Mrs Michael’s restaurant has experienced a ‘dramatic’ dip in dine-in customers since the coronavirus pandemic began
Though the Via Della Spiga restaurant has been able to receive a financial boost from the sale of pasta and sauces, Mrs Michaels said the sales are nowhere near the amount she used to have from dine-in customers.
‘It’s definitely helping, but not as much as we used to have dining in the restaurant.
Businesses across Australia are struggling with a steep decline in customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Anna Bligh, the chief executive of the Australian Banking Association, made the announcement on Friday as the national COVID-19 death toll rose to seven.
‘Banks want to make sure that every business, every small business knows, they are now able to get six months’ deferral on all loans associated with the business,’ she told reporters.
The big four banks – Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ and NAB – will offer repayment relief for six months, worth $100billion, which is expected to generate $8billion for the economy ‘as fast as possible’ in a bid to stem a rise in unemployment.