Creating and running Semolina the past six years has taught me a lot, but nothing could have prepared me for being a pasta maker and business owner in a pandemic.
We started 2020 on a high, having won two Good Food Awards, and launching some new business partnerships. When Covid hit in March, we were fortunate enough not to have to shut down operations, but I did close the storefront in an effort to keep our small team safe. We maxed out production, and I scrambled to find more equipment to make more pasta. That relief finally arrived in June with a new-to-us pasta dryer from our friends at Vera Pasta in Pennsylvania.
Since then we’ve been trying to find more ways to feed you.
We launched curbside pickup, bought a fridge and a freezer to stock with delicious things like cheese and prosciutto and pasture-raised meats, all to help you all cook better at home. We became a pickup location for County Line Harvest’s CSA, and of course, we made thousands upon thousands of pounds of pasta. Most of all, we tried to stay connected to you all from afar in our love language: food.
Thank you all who stuck by us through the ups and downs, and to those of you who discovered us on the shelves when there was nothing else to buy.
We hope the end of 2020 finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy.
We look forward to feeding you in 2021.
Leah and the Semolina Artisanal Pasta team