Fewer customers, increased costs and tragedy lead to closure of Waterford's Caffe NV

Sep. 20—WATERFORD — Outside NV Bakery and Market Wednesday afternoon, five tables of customers laughed, chatted and ate in the shade of yellow umbrellas, while more people lined up inside to pick up or place orders.

Even on a weekday the bakery ― which serves a variety of sandwiches, soups, coffee, smoothies and more ― was busy as ever.

But across the street, at the now-closed Caffe NV, the door was locked and the lights were off.

Not long ago, a patio around the other side of the 51 Boston Post Road Caffe NV building, on afternoons or evenings, would have steadily seated customers who would overlook a steady stream of cars going from New London into Waterford as they ate Mediterranean lunches or dinners.

In turn, drivers could see the customers perched up on the hill eating their meals beside the building's eye-catching red brick and stained glass window.

But now, drivers can only see a dumpster in the parking lot. There is no sign anymore, or customers to look down at the road. On the patio, the umbrellas are all closed.

Owner Maria Longinidis said in the past five years there had been "significant changes in the amount of business" at the restaurant.

The restaurant, which had been open 24 years, announced its closure on Sept. 1 by a poster board on the door. The message thanked the Caffe's "customers and friends," for their loyal support, and employees for their hard work. It was signed by the "NV Family," with an encouragement to visit the bakery across the street.

Longinidis owns both restaurants, which served different food items but were both geared towards a New London and Waterford clientele.

The still-open bakery, which was established a decade ago out of her feeling that the area needed to have one, has seating. It is a more casual, take-out atmosphere, while the Caffe, which did offer take out too, was a sit-down service.

Longinidis said her decision to close the Caffe was motivated by a declining customer base since the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in the cost of ingredients and tragedy that befell her family five months ago.

"The most recent thing was my son passed away (five) months ago," Longinidis said. "My mindset has changed quite a bit now. My motivation has changed a lot."

On an early morning in March, Longinidis's 27-year-old son, John, or as she referred to him by his Greek name, Yianni, died after his truck struck a tree on Interstate 95 northbound near exit 89 in Groton.

"I woke up one Sunday morning and my son was gone," Longinidis recalled tearfully in a phone interview Thursday.

But the Caffe's closing had been "inevitable, whether he had passed away or not," she said.

"The expenses definitely played a big role," Longinidis added. "As far as the food costs going up. The (profit) margins got smaller and smaller."

As they did, she said it took more "man power" to figure out how the restaurant could maintain the quality of its food while staying within its budget. Labor, electricity and insurance costs had all risen in the past few years, she added. The restaurant's head chef, Bonnie, retired about ten years ago, which Longinidis said made the Caffe harder to manage.

The pandemic was a big factor, too.

Longinidis said while the Caffe was able to sustain itself during that time, it left a change in the "dynamic" of the restaurant. The amount of sit-down customers decreased, and the restaurant would sometimes go without anyone at a table for hours. It had moved up closing time from 10 to 9 p.m.

"It got quieter and quieter," she said. "You really have to do volume. Volume is key. It's the key to making your staff happy. It's the key to making more money. It's the key to, also, atmosphere in a restaurant."

Who would want to go to a restaurant where there's no one eating? Longinidis asked.

"Then, after Yianni's passing, I just didn't have the ability to prioritize what needed to be done," she said. "I just didn't think I had the ability to run both restaurants and do a good job at both of them."

Yianni never called me 'mom'

Longinidis said on the morning Yianni died, she had gone into the bakery, where he, a business graduate from Mitchell College, had worked in spite of Longinidis urging him to use his degree to find something better.

"But he was very adamant about staying and working and helping me," she said. "Which he did. And it was a big help."

She asked the girls where he was, and they said he hadn't come in. This was the moment she knew something was wrong.

"Life is so short. And life is unpredictable," Longinidis said. "But it is sweet."

She remembered Yianni as an amazing, kind person and "everyone's best friend."

Longinidis had worked at the NV Bakery and Market since it opened, while her sister and two childhood best friends ran the Caffe. Her son had worked alongside her, and had begun taking on greater responsibilities. Longinidis said she had gotten to see customers get to know and love her son.

"He never called me mom in the restaurant. He always called me Maria," Longinidis said. "He didn't want to be treated any differently because he was my son. He wanted to show that ― and to earn that. He just didn't want any special treatment from anyone."

She has yet to go back to work since Yianni died.

"And I want people ― when I go back to work ― to be able to talk to me about how Yianni was. Because even though I might cry like I'm doing right now, I want people to know that he was just the kindest soul."

The support from the community after Yianni's death, and the support since the closing of the Caffe has been overwhelming, she said.

"I know I did something right in the community with the restaurants, because people really did show their love," Longinidis said.

Longinidis reassured customers that the bakery will be able to engage with people and that some items from the Caffe, including the salads, will be brought over to the bakery.

"It's bittersweet," Longinidis said. "But I'm not super sad, because God knows the Caffe brought amazing things for us."

And she said she has already seen a positive result from closing the Caffe and being able to focus on the bakery.

"There's less pressure," she said. "There's less ordering (ingredients). When my phone rings in the middle of the night and it's someone calling out ― it's easier."