Jimmy Butera, Kevin Dugan, and Seth Greene Talk Covid Pivot on the State of Greater Western New York Report – February 25, 2021

In this episode, we explain the “Covid pivot” in Greater Western New York Region both from the point of view of the restaurant industry specifically and small businesses in general.

In our first segment, Jimmy Butera, President of the Western New York Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) gives details about how eateries in our region are coping with the pandemic as well as how he’s done it with his own restaurant in the Village of Hamburg. Kevin Dugan, Director of Government Affairs for NYSRA reveals how Albany has helped (or hurt) restaurants, including the different challenges restaurants in the Greater Western New York Region face when compared to those in other areas of the states (especially New York City). Finally, the two explore how some changes may be permanent and what the favorite pandemic take-out food appears to be.

In the second segment, Seth Greene, CEO of Amherst-based MarketDominationLLC.com and co-host of the Sharkpreneur podcast reveals what he’s discovered about how small businesses have successfully pivoted to new and more profitable areas during these Covid times. He touches briefly on restaurants before offering specific examples of other types of small businesses in the Greater Western New York Region. Finally, Greene goes into the emerging “Coronapreneur” phenomenon, especially as it relates to the gig economy.

Our guests answered questions from the live audience. Would you like to be a member of our live audience so you can ask our guests questions? Click here to join the growing number of members who share your feelings on StateOf.GreaterWesternNewYork.com because then we can automatically send you the link to watch our shows live.