The last year has been a rollercoaster for Jeremy Wladis' business. 

He’s the president & CEO of The Restaurant Group and owns multiple eateries including Good Enough to Eat and Hachi Maki on the Upper West Side.

He was not surprised that a new report from the NYC Hospitality Alliance found 75% of restaurants saw revenue drop by more than half in 2020.

“You know the word of the pandemic and the restaurant world is ‘pivot’ and that’s what we’re trying to do,” he said. 

Wladis used to run a brick and mortar burger joint where Hachi Maki is now.

He says the sports bar atmosphere just wasn’t working during the pandemic, so he transformed it into a sushi restaurant. He hopes that investment will pay off, as he saw a roughly 60% drop in revenue at his restaurants last year.

“If we get an extra 10 meals a day out of any concept it’s huge, it’s huge. It keeps another person working, and it goes towards paying the rent, or the utilities,” he said.

The report also found almost half of restaurants say financial aid to cover the rent is needed most. And without ongoing protection policies for small businesses, 46% of those surveyed said their businesses won’t survive.

Wladis says he has received government assistance, but he could always use more help.

“If the landlords work with us and they’re willing to make adjustments or the federal government we’ll survive. If not, we will see,” he said.

Wladis is also hoping for increased capacity indoors. He said that and a later curfew would also help a great deal.