Opened in 1977, Hugo’s is a classic burger restaurant offering a wide variety of delicious menu items. This European-style restaurant’s menu was inspired by a love for the food discovered during the European travels of the original owners. From classic hamburgers to crepes, quiches, and nachos, Hugo’s has mastered it all.
Jason Piazza began work at Hugo’s in 1998 and took ownership of the restaurant in 2004. His primary goal for the restaurant is consistency – consistency of food quality, customer service, and ambiance. Like many other small business owners, when the pandemic hit he was worried about how to keep this consistency for which Hugo’s had always strived. Luckily, the Arkansas Small Business and Tecnology Development Center was there and eager to help. ASBTDC Director Mary Beth Brooks, reached out to Piazza at the beginning of 2020 to tell him about the services offered and meetings held that would be beneficial in saving his business. As Piazza began attending the weekly “Restaurant Forum” Zoom calls hosted by ASBTDC, he began to feel a sense of comfort in the community. The meetings were a place for local small business restaurant owners to collaborate on ideas for how to navigate this unprecedented situation and grow closer to those in the community experiencing the same thing. Piazza states, “It was a way of networking. It was nice to get to know people that do the same thing as you do. To have that sense of community was really important”.
Along with these weekly meetings, Mary Beth led Piazza through the process of obtaining Paycheck Protection Program as well as other grants and loans. This constant support provided by ASBTDC is what Piazza credits to being able to keep the restaurant in business and come out strong. Acquiring the PPP loan allowed him to retain his employees. This was extremely important to the business because it supported the restaurant’s goal of consistency.
“Showing the support that small businesses had within the community was helpful to know that someone was out there on our side. There are a lot of talented people [at ASBTDC] that could be working with big corporations, but they are here helping us”, added Piazza.
Today, Hugo’s is as successful as ever. Jason and Mary Beth continue their conversations every few months, as needed. A piece of advice to other small business owners that Piazza would like to share is that “you can’t live and die with the rain”, a quote that the original owner, Lamar Anderson, lived by. It means that there are always going to be good and bad days, but you have to learn how to accept that and let it balance to keep your business strong.
Hugo’s is an institution in Fayetteville that we are proud to call our client.