Located right off of Sergentsville Road lies Maria Rosa Pizzeria. The pizzeria is one of the three small businesses owned by the Marinelli Brothers Vito, Ralph, and Mike. The charming brick building is accompanied by a beautiful outdoor patio with twinkling string lights and a pond created by their father Giovanni Marinelli. 

As you walk in, the breathtaking smell of the pizza ovens overwhelms you as you immediately gaze upon the stunning and appetizing pizzas that sit next to the register. You are greeted with a warm, genuine welcome from either Ralph or Mike who are already covered in flour and it is only 4 o’clock. You sit down at a booth and admire what the people sitting next to you ordered, then tell your server you want the exact same thing. 

But what would happen if you couldn’t experience the ambiance when you placed your order?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria Rosa, like many small businesses in Flemington, had to completely change their way of doing business that they had crafted for decades. How did they survive? What were their challenges? Were other Flemington small businesses as lucky?

Ralph Marinelli, Co-owner of Maria Rosa Pizzeria, had to make significant changes due to the pandemic. “We had to completely change our business model, going from a majority of dine-in to curbside delivery and take-out,” he said. 

Ralph and Mike Marinelli took over Maria Rosa from their father in 2006 after the business had opened in 1995. The brothers originally struggled with establishing their pizza cred as the new owners and encountered challenges faced by many small business owners during start up. Ralph Marinelli especially highlighted the importance of cash flow management and prioritizing projects and expenditures. However, by keeping Maria Rosa in the family, Ralph and Mike continued to foster the love of food with friends and family while producing delicious pizzas.

Ralph and Mike realize they were not the only small business owners who have struggled since the onset of the pandemic. Flemington has over 400 businesses according to jerseydigs.com, but not all of them were forced to shut down in March of 2020. 

Betsy Driver, mayor of Flemington, did not agree with Governor Murphy’s state mandate regarding small businesses made on March 21st, 2020. “It was not fair that he allowed large chain businesses such as Walmart and Target to remain open and forced small businesses to close,” she said. 

With small businesses being forced to shut their doors, small business owners like Ralph and Mike Marinelli had to get creative. Employees at Maria Rosa Pizzeria had to shift gears and learn how to upsell items over the phone which is already challenging to do face to face. Ralph and Mike struggled with meeting the supply and demand. Even pizza box suppliers were backed up and products took weeks to deliver.