Fiddlehead updates business model

Have any information ?

"* call r?

"*p?

* rochester has seen it's share of businesses closing their doors for good because of the pandemic.

After struggling for months ?

"* one coffee house thinks it may have found a recipe for success.

Kimt news 3's maleeha kamal has that story.

I'm here at fiddlehead coffee company and jsut a couple months ago they didn't know if they would be able to keep their doors open due to covid but thanks to their business model they were able to add new staff and a lunch menu.

Fiddlehead has become a staple of rochester.

It's known for its green decore, unique coffee blends and friendly faces.

But when the pandemic hit and the state had to shut down ... this business almost said goodbye to the rochester community.

"and i got here at 5:30 am parked the car and just couldn't help myself i was just sitting in the parking lot crying.

Thats patrick phelan he's the co?

"*owner of the company.

He says the shutdown forced them to let go of almost two dozen employees... keeping just three on staff.

To keep up with state guidelines they restructured their set up to offer options like coffee delivery and curbside pickup but it wasn't enough to cover the company's expenses.

Phelan sot: "we couldn't avoid it, we couldn't pretend that it wasn't happening.

We knew we just needed to adapt and improvise and overcome the situation that we were in."

Instead of calling it quits ?

*- fiddlehead restructured its entire business model.

This is what not only helped keep the business afloat ?

"* but is helping them thrive in the community once again.

Phelan sot: "we were able to reinvest into a better pastry program and then we were able to bring staff back to excute that pastry program it was a step by step thing.

So we weren't investing a ton of money on a wing and a prayer.

We were investing small increments for stainable growth that way if a shut down happened or if a staff member became sick we could be agile and keep pivoting and keep growing."

Employee: "they paid us for the weeks we didn't work."

One of the employees hired back was mary sullivan.

Fiddlehead's flats on fourth location temporarily shuttered during the pandemic.

The business has been solely selling drinks and food out of the avani location.

The owners says they plan to reopen the flats on 4th store as soon as they hire more staff.

They want to