Businesses get creative to ring in the the new year

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) – 2020 is coming to an end. It’s a year that shook the nation and challenged Rhode Islanders and businesses like no other.

New Years Eve is a challenge in it of itself as businesses struggle to hold celebrations while following COVID guidelines.

One business in Warwick is re-invented itself to stay afloat.

At the beginning of 2020, a building on Bay Avenue in Warwick was home to Cozy Caterers.

“We had no clue of how we were going to survive because everything of ours is outside events. 100, 125, 150, 200 people,” Charlene Deluca, event coordinator at Cozy Caterers said. “They were just putting a halt on everything.”

Deluca says they lost weddings, summer events, and as the winter hit, holiday parties.

“Our November and December are two of our most lucrative months,” Deluca said. “Between holiday parties, indoor outdoor events, corporate events, it is very much our bread and butter.”

She says the only way to survive the year, was to completely re-invent their business. So, they took their catering company and used their building to start a restaurant called One Bay Avenue Events.

“We were able to take our employees and keep them employed,” Deluca said. “We didn’t have a large profit margin, but we were able to employ 10 to 12 people a week and still give them a pay check.”

While New Years Eve is different this year, they did what they know how to do best: they got creative.

“We’ve never done this before. We’re normally out doing events as a catering company, but this year we have punted and here we are doing it as a restaurant.”

According to the Governor’s Office, there are not any additional New Years Eve regulations. The same rules in place now apply for New Years Eve as well. That means seating of one household per table and early closures for bars and at 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For One Bay Avenue, it entails noisemakers and a four-course dinner.

“We’re done by 10,” Deluca said. “But, it’s a reservation, it’s a dinner. There’s music, but no dancing, so it’s a lot different than what would normally be happening.”

While it’s an ending fitting for 2020, Deluca says there’s hope that things will turn around in 2021.