Sammy's Pizza closing Momence location

Sammy’s Pizza, a mainstay in the pizza world of Kankakee County, will soon have only three county locations as ownership announced last week it would not be renewing the lease for its downtown Momence site.

The company had operated the location for about 10 years, but worker shortages and other factors pushed owners (Scott and Brittany Manua, Brent Manua and Scott Irps) to decline the renewal of the lease at 119 W. Washington St.

“The location just didn’t recover after COVID,” explained Scott Manua, who along with his wife, Brittany, owns and operates the three remaining Sammy’s locations in Kankakee, Manteno and Bourbonnais.

The Momence location was the second site for Sammy’s. The times of COVID-19 have been difficult on a countless number of small businesses as employees have been difficult to find and getting customers to return has also not been easy.

Scott and Brittany closed Sammy’s Pizza in Peotone in mid-COVID.

“We don’t know why it didn’t recover,” Brittany said. “We had to make a difficult decision. We love the Momence community. People are disappointed. We hate that, but we have to have stores that are profitable.”

The couple noted the first wave of COVID was harsh enough, then when the second wave came through, it brought them to their knees and for smaller locations such as Momence, it became more than the company could absorb.

Not only is finding help a widespread problem, but spiking food costs are also making operations difficult.

The location’s final day will be April 10. In a Facebook post, the couple noted: “While the last couple of years have been difficult for small businesses, we are looking forward to great things!”

The pair note that for those who did patronize the Momence restaurant, they hope they will continue to think of Sammy’s when considering dining out. She said the three other locations are not far away and as employees from Momence were offered jobs at the other sites, staffing issues have been somewhat eased as well.

The couple is developing a Sammy’s Pizza location in Naples, Fla. It’s an area that the couple is familiar with, and the goal is to have that site opened this summer. Between indoor and outside seating, the restaurant will be able to accommodate about 80.

Scott said since COVID restrictions have been lifted here, business has picked up.

“It’s onward and upward,” Brittany said. “It was very sad to have had to make this decision, but we have a lot of good, loyal customers.”

According to a survey from early 2021 conducted by Deloitte, a worldwide risk management and financial advisory firm, only a mere 7 percent of 3,000 U.S. consumers said they would be cooking less after the pandemic than before.

And as excited as some consumers are to once again dine out, 1 of 3 noted they would be eating out less post-pandemic. However, 40 percent of those respondents noted they would access take-out or delivery more.

• 690 N 5th Ave, Kankakee

• 12 Heritage Plaza, Bourbonnais

• 30 W. 2nd St., Manteno

• 119 W. Washington St., Momence (closing April 10)