18 Buffalo Business Autumn 2020
Nick Pitillo, CEL '18, was at his downtown Buffalo
restaurant, Osteria 166, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo
announced a mandate for restaurants to close—one
of countless such orders issued by leaders worldwide
this spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Soon,
Pitillo was forced to lay off all 60 of his employees, many
of whom had become like family aer a decade or more
on the job.
"It was a horrible time, with so much uncertainty,"
says Pitillo, who owns two restaurants and a cater-
ing business with his wife, Kendra. "We raised a glass,
hugged and cried—and the next day woke up trying to
figure out what we were going to do."
In just two days, Pitillo and his team developed a
new business: Stock The Freezer, a meal prep service that
allows customers to order comfort food that's cooked
fresh and frozen for delivery. Within 12 hours of launch,
the company had sold 1,500 meals—including 1,000 that
customers purchased to donate to shelters and front-line
workers. As orders flooded in, Pitillo was able to hire
back many workers, and together they made and deliv-
ered more than 37,000 meals (including 20,000 donated
meals). He also explored other sales opportunities, like
pop-up booths outside breweries.
"It's been invigorating to see the community rally
behind us, because the reality is that all these things keep
our restaurants alive and keep people working," he says.
"We don't know what will happen in the future, but we do
know we'll keep fighting every day."
Alumni from the School of Management and Center
for Entrepreneurial Leadership are ambitious, innova-
tive, inclusive, globally minded—and, now more than
ever, resilient. When cities went into lockdown, orga-
nizational leaders and entrepreneurs got to work, shi-
ing operations to keep afloat, serve their clients and help
their community. For some alumni, like Pitillo, their
pivot may have even opened up long-term opportunities,
a silver lining in the crisis.
Alumni Impact
Fighting for the future
By Matthew Biddle
Pitillo stocks the freezer at Dash's Market with meals from his restaurant.
How alumni adapted to keep their businesses going—and help out
