[ad_1]
Bella’s at 93 Seneca Street in Geneva is a local favorite and has an average of 4.5 stars on Google Reviews. Owner Richard Austin works hard and places great value on customer service.
“We really lost so much of the human connection because of technology,” Austin said. “We really try to meet every single table and ask how everything was, whether they enjoy it.”
Austin worked in hospitality during high school before joining the dealership and now in the software sector during the day.
“Unfortunately, the owner Tomas had to close about three and a half years ago and was looking for business partners,” says Austin. “And I think I raised my hand.”
Bella’s restaurant in downtown Geneva. Photo Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
After Austin got into the business, they reopened on Mother’s Day weekend in 2018 and celebrated their third anniversary on Mother’s Day last.
One of the most important things to care about Austin as a business owner is its close relationship with the Geneva community.
“I am involved in the Chamber of Commerce, the Geneva BID, Rotary,” said Austin. “Community engagement and giving something back to the community is important to us, it’s actually in our mission statement.”
Bella’s was not closed during the pandemic but switched to to-go orders. Some employees stayed to work and lived on tips.
“We redoubled our community support efforts during the pandemic,” Austin said.
Bella’s was able to donate over $ 10,000 in groceries to the Boys and Girls Club in Geneva during the shutdown, and it meant a lot to Austin helping families who might have had a harder time than others.
“Without the community we are not open,” he said. “Without people in the squares, you’re just wasting money. It was really our way of showing appreciation to the community by constantly trying to give something back. “
While Bella’s had some staffing bottlenecks due to the economy, Austin said he would like to keep the workforce down for now.
“We’re trying to keep the staff small, but we had to hire a few more people because we really got blown up,” he said. “We have great employees, they are extremely well paid and we had a really low turnover.”
The biggest problem the company is facing right now is finding a bigger location to do the amount of business they get.
Bella’s fits as many tables as possible, most of which, according to owner Richard Austin, are full every night. Photo Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
“We turn away hundreds of people,” he said. “We turned 400 people away on the Muscle Man weekend.”
The store is open Thursday through Monday, and while reservations are not required, Austin says it is so busy it becomes a reservation situation.
Austin said they adjust people if they have cancellations or if they know they have an hour before a party needs to be seated, they will let customers know so they get served quickly and be ready before the next party arrives.
“We want everyone to have a great time, we want them to enjoy their food, enjoy the singing and enjoy the ambience,” he said. “But at the same time it can’t be a four-hour affair. There are other people who want the same experience so we try to prepare people for it when we know we will be busy. We let them know that we have expedited service. “
Bella’s restaurant in downtown Geneva. Photo Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
Austin explains that this started as a hobby job to socialize more because he works from home, but then in his opinion it started.
Austin’s fiancée Ashley runs the house and manages everything.
Austin tried to keep the overall frame of the restaurant before working with the previous owner, saying he was in fact adding to what was already there.
“We kept much of the core culture that was created,” he said. “We kept many recipes, improved them, got recommendations from local experts and kept a lot of style and atmosphere.”
Bella’s offers the ability to make reservations right on their website’s home page, order online, view the menu, and see the places the company has returned to in the community.
More information is available at https://www.bellasgeneva.com/.
Would you like to have the latest headlines in your inbox every morning? Click here to sign up for our Morning Edition and Sunday Insight newsletters. They aim to keep you updated. You can also download the FingerLakes1.com app for Android (all Android devices) or iOS (iPhone, iPad). 
[ad_2]
