Deep Diving

Nick Yager is a co-owner of Gusanoz Mexican Restaurant in New Hampshire. In the wake of COVID-19, Nick chose to keep Gusanoz open despite falling sales which initially meant that the restaurant couldn’t afford to stay in business. However, as the pandemic progressed, Gusanoz was able to refinance its supply contract because the supplier “couldn’t have cared less because they knew that we were in it for the long run”. Gusanoz also received an emergency loan, which helped keep them afloat as sales dropped. After the initial shock of the pandemic and lockdown passed, Gusanoz also began receiving more takeout orders than ever before, bringing them back into the green. The spread of COVID-19 also disrupted Gusanoz’ supply chain. Nick made the choice to switch from buying all fresh ingredients to mostly fresh, some frozen, and to “eat the price change” on many ingredients which have as much as doubled in cost. He made these choices because he wants to focus on “not disappointing our guests and keeping our employees working”. To these ends, Nick has kept as many staff on as possible, only laying off temporary workers and a handful of employees who have or live with someone who has an immunodeficiency. While they no longer work at Gusanoz, allowing them to claim unemployment, Nick still considers them part of the family and gives them and their families a free meal every week. He is also concerned for his biological family, and tries “to discourage them from getting together” for their own safety. He worries that many people are not taking the pandemic seriously, but believes that it has presented him with a choice to “either lay down and just accept that things are different and wish that they weren’t or you have to embrace it”.