Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. I'm Carol Masser.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg Business Week Extra. It's a weekly
Speaker 1: podcast with a favorite conversation from the week. And we
Speaker 1: heard recently about two more iconic restaurants that have had
Speaker 1: to close because of the coronavirus pandemic. We're talking about
Speaker 1: the Cliff House in San Francisco closing its doors for
Speaker 1: good after nearly fifty years with its current owners. But
Speaker 1: it's a restaurant with a history that dates back some
Speaker 1: one fifty seven years. Also closing New York City's twenty
Speaker 1: one Club, although said to be exploring options, so fingers
Speaker 1: crossed on that one. Overall, more than one restaurants have
Speaker 1: closed permanently or long term across the country as the
Speaker 1: industry grapples with the devastating impact of the COVID nineteen pandemic.
Speaker 1: And yet, against this difficult and once in a lifetime
Speaker 1: restaurant industry meltdown, Prince Emmanuel Philiberto di Savoya did the unthinkable. Emmanuel,
Speaker 1: by the way, grandson of Italy's last king, He's operated
Speaker 1: his long running Prince and Venice food truck serving at
Speaker 1: Italian food for years on the streets of l A.
Speaker 1: What was the unthinkable? The Prince opened his first brick
Speaker 1: and mortar restaurant in the l A neighborhood of Westwood.
Speaker 1: Here's our conversation. I had lockdown also in Italy. We
Speaker 1: were completely shot. We couldn't go out of the house
Speaker 1: for two months. And as soon as we were able
Speaker 1: to reopen and when things were a bit clearer, I
Speaker 1: had authorization to come to America and to be able
Speaker 1: to open the restaurant. Well, so somebody, I'm thinking people
Speaker 1: are listening, they say, well, why did you even pursue
Speaker 1: opening the restaurant during a pandemic? Why did you so?
Speaker 1: You know, everything starts with food trucks. Four years ago
Speaker 1: I created the first fresh pasta food truck in Los
Speaker 1: Angeles and we had a lot of success um with
Speaker 1: with this concept, with this new concept because I was
Speaker 1: doing my own pastas in the in the food truck
Speaker 1: with organic products with Italian flower work, and people really
Speaker 1: liked it. So um. Since then, I always had the
Speaker 1: idea of expanding and opening a restaurant, and I really
Speaker 1: found during the pandemic, I think through websites, through loop
Speaker 1: net or I don't know which website. I really found
Speaker 1: this incredible location with a beautiful courtyard, uh in a Westwood,
Speaker 1: which is the university town, the medical town, and so
Speaker 1: I decided to take it and to and and and
Speaker 1: to to start this new adventure. And I really think
Speaker 1: when you have an idea and when you you you
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to do it, it's it's good to
Speaker 1: to go ahead. You know, pandemic not pandemic. The important
Speaker 1: thing is that my concept, because coming from a food
Speaker 1: trump is really to go and a delivery concept. Mine
Speaker 1: is a fast casual restaurant. I want people to eat
Speaker 1: in a fast casual way, to take out delivery. I
Speaker 1: also have a beautiful courtyard, as I said, but they
Speaker 1: shut us down unfortunately recently. But all the idea is
Speaker 1: to give the opportunity to people to taste real Italian
Speaker 1: handmade past us. And now we do also pizzas and janis,
Speaker 1: which are the rice cones, beautiful disser at a good
Speaker 1: price and in a very good Italian quality. So, Emmanuel,
Speaker 1: I want to take you back to the martin. You
Speaker 1: said you're you're constructing your restaurant by FaceTime and by
Speaker 1: skype from Italy. Um how easy was that? How difficult
Speaker 1: was that? I mean, we're doing a lot of things
Speaker 1: that we didn't do before virtually, and it's amazing all
Speaker 1: the things we can get done well, and yes we can.
Speaker 1: We did a lot of things that we couldn't get
Speaker 1: done before. But in a certain way, it was quite
Speaker 1: frustrating because you know, you really need to see the place,
Speaker 1: to feel the colors that everything. But in in another way,
Speaker 1: it was it saved me come greatly because as I
Speaker 1: least this wonderful property, um, I was able to to
Speaker 1: to not lose time and to start building everything even
Speaker 1: if I couldn't go to America because of the pandemic.
Speaker 1: So it really helped a lot. And and I think
Speaker 1: we discovered a lot of also a lot of things
Speaker 1: that we are we were able to to to do
Speaker 1: during this pandemic and and and to continue our our
Speaker 1: daily work and our daily contact with people. Yeah, which
Speaker 1: is pretty remarkable. So tell me about how the restaurant
Speaker 1: is running right now? As you mentioned another shutdown, So
Speaker 1: how are things going? So I was. I was very
Speaker 1: happy because, as I told you, I had this wonderful
Speaker 1: more than a thousand square feet courtyard which was very
Speaker 1: nice and for the first week we opened and people
Speaker 1: were enjoying it with social distancing, with everything needed to
Speaker 1: keep everyone safe, and suddenly they shut down. Also the
Speaker 1: courtyards in um In in Los Angeles, like I think
Speaker 1: they starting today in New York. So we had too
Speaker 1: well to recreate a bit everything and to to really
Speaker 1: focus in on the two go and on the delivery side, which,
Speaker 1: like I told you before, for me it was quite
Speaker 1: easy because coming from a food truck idea, it was
Speaker 1: really a to go business and I really believe in
Speaker 1: those models now more than ever, those kind of fast,
Speaker 1: casual but high quality restaurants. Well, and so how busy
Speaker 1: have you been and how much of it have you
Speaker 1: been able to you? Obviously, as you said, because it
Speaker 1: was a food truck initially, it sounds like the pivot
Speaker 1: was relatively easy. But I'm just curious, what kind of
Speaker 1: business activity have you had in terms of take out
Speaker 1: orders or delivery. So listen, we we the activity was
Speaker 1: a bit fifty fifty. We work with the biggest platforms
Speaker 1: from Postmates, you Breath, Slice, so it was a bit
Speaker 1: fifty fifty like delivery and the two go. I can
Speaker 1: tell you something is that opening like exactly one month
Speaker 1: ago because I opened on the of November of via November. Um,
Speaker 1: we are starting to break even. That mean I am
Speaker 1: not losing money today with I kept all my staff,
Speaker 1: I kept my two cooks, my manager and everyone, and
Speaker 1: we are not losing money. So I think the the
Speaker 1: idea is good and it shows that even during difficult
Speaker 1: moments like this, and and at the beginning you were
Speaker 1: speaking about those incredible iconic restaurants which are unfortunately closing today.
Speaker 1: But people who have ideas and people who have ideas,
Speaker 1: integrating today what we can do and what we cannot do,
Speaker 1: and taking also consider ration about the pandemic and what
Speaker 1: is happening. I think it's worth trying them and and
Speaker 1: and and and try to build something because from this period,
Speaker 1: if it goes well, it can only grow. So I
Speaker 1: think we must look forward and and really think that, yes,
Speaker 1: it's a very difficult moment to pass, but if this
Speaker 1: succeeds now, it can only grow well. And I do wonder,
Speaker 1: you know, in terms of if you look at the
Speaker 1: restaurant industry, I mean it's just been decimated, and I
Speaker 1: do wonder how much ultimately comes back, our new ideas
Speaker 1: come back um, you know after such you know, after
Speaker 1: after such a significant loss. Yes, don't know. Well, the
Speaker 1: problem is that a lot of of of of restaurants
Speaker 1: which didn't have this this idea of to go or
Speaker 1: or delivery before the pandemic. For them, it was very
Speaker 1: difficult to to to then turn and to habituate the
Speaker 1: customers to come and and and and and take from them.
Speaker 1: Or I'm thinking about the us, the bars, the restaurants.
Speaker 1: This is it's terrible for them. But I think a
Speaker 1: lot of way I'm you know, I was looking a
Speaker 1: lot about all the leasts that were done in Los
Speaker 1: Angeles restaurants. Things are moving and people are leasing places.
Speaker 1: I know that next to me doughnut places opening. Um.
Speaker 1: So I think people are now seeing the light at
Speaker 1: the end of the tunnel, hopefully and and so they're
Speaker 1: preparing themselves for the big reopened. I don't know when
Speaker 1: it will be. And and but you know, also this
Speaker 1: big reopened there is careful. Being careful is also very
Speaker 1: important because I can tell you from Europe now I'm
Speaker 1: seeing the situation in Italy where they were to shut
Speaker 1: down and they completely reopened. And and today I saw
Speaker 1: some images of the center of Milan full of people
Speaker 1: with no protection, and I think, where do you know?
Speaker 1: Sometimes I think the governments or who is taking care
Speaker 1: of this are really not prepared and they're trying to
Speaker 1: do the thousand things in the same time. Well, there's
Speaker 1: no coherence. Well, Emmanuel, and I did want to ask
Speaker 1: you because you do, I assume have family back in Italy.
Speaker 1: I mean, what you guys are hearing about how things
Speaker 1: are going or you know, we're we're pretty you know,
Speaker 1: kind of bracing for pretty dark winter. It's I feel
Speaker 1: like they overuse but maybe appropriate ap properly overused phrase
Speaker 1: to describe what we're all waiting for in the next
Speaker 1: month here when it comes to the virus in the US.
Speaker 1: But just quickly, just got about forty seconds here. Um,
Speaker 1: how what are you hearing from your family over in
Speaker 1: Italy when everyone is is very scared because you know, um,
Speaker 1: the government wants to open for Christmas and because Christmas
Speaker 1: and Italy is very important. Fim are gathering somebody together
Speaker 1: or think but um in the in the same time,
Speaker 1: I don't think it's a very good idea. I think
Speaker 1: people you must follow a line, a line of thinking
Speaker 1: and and Christmas or not Christmas. You know, it's easier
Speaker 1: to put someone at your table than to take it off,
Speaker 1: uh indefinitely, and and think that this guy will be
Speaker 1: a grave soon. So we must really be careful. We
Speaker 1: must really be careful. And that wraps up our Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Business Week Extra podcast with Prince Emanuel Philiberto Did Savoya
Speaker 1: talking about opening up his first brick and mortar restaurant
Speaker 1: amid the pandemic. You've been listening to Bloomberg Business Week Extra,
Speaker 1: be sure to listen to Bloomberg Business Week Radio, airing
Speaker 1: live Monday if you're Friday at two pm Wall Street
Speaker 1: Time on Bluemberg Radio. I'm Carol Masser. This is Bloomberg