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Nick DiGiovanni
The awful economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic claimed one business Friday and is partly responsible for the impending closure of another.
The owners of DiGiovanni’s Café & Catering announced in a Facebook post Friday they were closing the doors after six years on Ansonia’s Main Street.
The pandemic greatly reduced business, according to the post.
“Unfortunately, the burden has become too heavy for us to sustain our business to support our young family,” the post read.
Derby native Nick DiGiovanni, a graduate of the culinary arts program at Rhode Island’s Johnson & Wales University, opened the Italian deli when he was 28. Click here for a 2014 story on the deli’s opening.
On Friday, Wildflour Confections in downtown Seymour also announced it would be closing its doors.
Owner and Seymour native Alyssa DeMatteo opened the business in 2015 on Bank Street. Click here for a Valley Indy story on its opening.
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Alyssa DeMatteo
Her decision to close on Jan. 23, according to her Facebook post: the downtown in business caused by COVID-19, and the fact she’s being deployed overseas with the Connecticut National Guard.
“While I knew enlisting would lead to sacrifice I’d have to make at some point, I think we can all agree that this pandemic hit harder than we could ever have imagined. I have said in a previous post that my heart beats for Wildflour but my blood runs red, white and blue. This is still the sincerest truth,” she wrote.
In 2017, DeMatteo’s entrepreneurial spirit was honored by the Women’s Business Development Council. Click here for a previous Valley Indy post.
Both business were greeted with warm messages from customers who learned about the closings on social media.
Ways To Help Or Get Help
The COVID-19 pandemic has been terrible for the country’s economy.
Locally, the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, The Valley Community Foundation, The United Way, and the Valley Health & Human Services Council created “The Valley Community COVID-19 COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund.”
Click here to donate to the fund.
Businesses can also reach out to The Greater Chamber of Commerce to help navigate help that may be available for small businesses. Click here for the chamber’s website.
On Jan. 19, the U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting an online seminar, “Overview on the Basics of the new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).” Click here to register.
Click here for the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
