Liverpool, N.Y. — Village Burger in Liverpool is becoming the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic. The popular burger joint will close permanently on Saturday.
Owner Art Silva said the pandemic has cut sales in half, prompting him to call it quits after nearly 10 years in business. With him and his wife Kathye at retirement age, they plan to move South to be closer to their children, a grandchild and, soon, a second grandchild.
“Business has been tough, obviously,” Silva said. “And my landlord’s not working with me to do anything, and I’m building up a big owe to him. Thirdly, I reached 65 and my son down in South Carolina has a 15-month-old, and they’ve got another one on the way. My other son is in North Carolina, and my daughter’s going to be moving down to South Carolina, so I don’t have any family left up here to continue the business.”
Silva opened the business in a former McDonald’s at 920 Old Liverpool Road in February 2011, featuring half-pound burgers available in 17 varieties, plus a special burger of the week. Among its offerings is the Heart Stopper, a deep-fried burger stuffed with mozzarella cheese and topped with bacon and onion rings.
Syracuse.com crowned Village Burger the champion of its first-ever Best of CNY Burger Battle in 2012. It’s also known for its haddock dinners and clam chowder.
Nancy Parker prepares a to-go order at Village Burger in Liverpool on Feb. 21, 2020. Charlie MillerCharlie Miller
But Silva said the pandemic has devastated the business. Fear of the virus has made customers reluctant to dine-in. He opened McDonald’s former drive-thru window hoping that would boost sales. But the business is not set up for quick-serve because it cooks everything to order, so customers must order ahead and then come to the drive-thru at a specified time.
“We can’t do drive up and order,” he said. “We don’t have them pre-cooked. We cook from scratch. And it takes a lot of time, with all the sauces we have and all the different recipes that we put together and even the way we cook fresh fries and make the patties. It’s just more work with less results coming out.”
Silva closed his dine-in service earlier this week. Only his pick-up service at the drive-thru window will be open for the rest of the week.
Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
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December 04, 2020 at 06:40AM
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Liverpool burger joint to close, a coronavirus victim; last call for the Heart Stopper - syracuse.com
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