Federico’s Pizza is closing down for now

The Asbury Park Press is reporting that the owners of Frederico’s Pizza & Restaurant in Belmar have decided to shut down. Michael and Bryan Morin say it’s only temporary as the coronavirus crisis is expected to worsen over the next few weeks.

The brothers made national news recently when they vowed to stand by their employees by taking out a $50,000 line of credit to keep paying them. People were so moved by their loyalty that donations even came in to support the business.

It’s pretty amazing they took on that debt at a time like this when so many other businesses just closed shop and let the chips fall where they may for their workers left out in the cold. Over a third of a million unemployment claims have been filed in New Jersey. Restaurants operate within slimmer profit margins than people think. No one can be 100% certain a restaurant can successfully come back after this is over which is why what the Morin brothers did is even more extraordinary. In past weeks they’ve even been donating food to local hospitals.

But they care about the safety of their employees and customers. On Monday they posted this message on Facebook:

When this is over, I hope people remember what this business did for everyone and come back in droves.

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