Roman Candle Pizza Owner Reflects on Closing Beer Stoffer’s Business | News

Beer Stoffer and his former business partner when they started building on them Roman candle pizzeria Restaurants In the year In 2004, they were passionate about serving the community the best food with fresh produce.

Over time, the local chain expanded to six locations at Williamson and Monroe streets, Middleton, Fitchburg, Whitefish Bay and the Children’s Museum of Madison. At one point, all six restaurants were in operation at the same time.

Stoffer is proud to be one of the “early adopters of locally sourced products.” They have over 50 local products on the menu.

But earlier this week, Stouffer and his team announced they would be closing the last Roman Candle pizzeria in Middleton. The restaurant will take orders until February 4. They came to the decision after two years of struggling to keep the business afloat.

“It’s changed a lot in nearly two decades of hospitality,” Stoffer said. “A lot of the things we’ve done are pioneering…like getting local produce, trying to embrace the neighborhood and trying to serve fresh, well-made food, nothing frozen, everything made from scratch.

“It was very special because a lot of people didn’t do that, especially in pizza.”

Stouffer said there have been big changes in the food and pizza industries over time. The company used to make most of its sales from people coming to its restaurants, but when delivery apps like EatStreet, UberEats and GrubHub began delivering food and pizza to customers’ homes, Roman Shama found it difficult to keep up. Difficult to protect delivery drivers.

“People are starting to deliver and pick up more and more,” he said. “That generally eroded pizza’s market share. Also, we are starting to have a hard time hiring drivers because there are only so many people who want to drive.

“The things that made us special, like local food, being able to serve it, (pizza) being well packaged in a box and all that kind of stuff stopped being special,” he said. “It became more of a commodity because you could get anything in a box and anything could be delivered.”

As a result, while sales were steady at the Middleton location, they fell at the Williamson Street location, which It closed in May.

Stouffer said the pandemic has exacerbated these issues. Restaurant workers have had to increase health protocols, wear masks, prioritize high levels of hygiene, and constantly worry about public health. He noticed the effect this had on the team.

“I’ve been very good at keeping managers for many, many years,” Stouffer said. But there’s always a manager who cooks or takes pizza or tables or does the dishes or whatever, so they get burned out.

“Everybody was doing everything to keep the places going. And that would just be grinding. You will see people burn out and it will be very difficult to grow your business. You are doing everything you can to protect him. It’s exhausting.”

Roman Candle is not alone in such struggles. Staff shortages and burnouts have been rampant in the local restaurant industry since the Covid-19 pandemic..

Stouffer said he is grateful for the hard work he has worked with for nearly 20 years.

People work in the restaurant industry “not because they make reliable money or because it’s glamorous or because it’s easy.” It’s hard work. But people who do this love to please other people.

“It’s an aspect I share, I got it from my mother. I personally enjoy cooking and entertaining. I love and have it in me to cook for my family and friends. I miss being around other people who get that and care about that,” he said.

Stoffer is on his way to help other business owners with branding and marketing.

“I’ve always been a storyteller,” Stoffer said. “I’ve always been interested in building and helping brands and companies. I have been excited about growing pomegranate seeds for many, many years.

“I loved it and now I’m helping other companies who want to improve and how to work with new clients, better clients and different clients.”