26 LIFE & HOME
“This patronage is not only
appreciated but is the fiber of
who we are and what we do.”
-Joe Diorio
ocky’s Corner, a 40-year old
family-owned staple on the
restaurant scene, came out swinging,
finding a way to
keep their pizza ovens
cooking. Longevity in the business
helped the family keep from closing and
kept employees working. Gina Diorio,
her mother Nancy, and Uncle Mike
Simonovich moved quickly to secure
loan funds, followed strict guidelines
on additional sanitation regulations,
and began offering curb-side pickup
and delivery in lieu of on-site
dining. Diorio says her immediate
fear was having to let employees
go, but the SBA relief secured their eployment.
Looking forward, she has concerns about the dinein
capacity due to distancing saying, “A lot of our
business is dine-in, and we don’t have that same
capacity now. I worry the virus will become worse.”
Her family’s Italian-Serbian fighting spirit presses
on as they plan to follow all new regulations and any forthcoming
to continue to operate. Diorio says her family cannot
express enough gratitude to their patrons. “Our great
customers kept us going and we were able to keep all of our
employees.” When asked how the community can help
support Rocky’s she says, “They already have. Without
them we wouldn’t make it.”
R