The Farmer's Wife in West Allis is closing due to the financial hit it took from the coronavirus pandemic

A West Allis restaurant is closing its doors, a casualty of the coronavirus.

The Farmer’s Wife, 6533 W. Mitchell St., will close May 30, according to owner Robin Mastera, who said she’s unable to keep the eatery running because of the financial toll the pandemic has taken on her business.

She’s operated the restaurant for nearly four years, but the revenue lost from not being able to serve patrons in person proved to be too much to overcome, she said.   

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“My sales, by only being able to do take-out and delivery, went down to about 20% of my average sales,” Mastera said. “And then you try and keep staff employed, and your own money starts running thin real quick.” 

She first shared the news on the restaurant’s Facebook page on May 15, evoking both disappointment and support from the restaurant’s faithful.

Difficult decision

Mastera said she did receive a couple of small pandemic-related grants to help the cause, but was unable to obtain a disaster relief loan, and a local grant program started by the city of West Allis to help small businesses began after she had already turned over the lease on her building.

So she and her husband, both in their mid-50s, had a choice to make.

“Do we take more out of our retirement (savings) and try and breathe some life into things, or do we close this chapter and move on to the next and look for a better, brighter future for ourselves,” she said. “And we decided we’re getting too old to dip into the retirement.”

West Allis Mayor Dan Devine said he was disappointed to hear the news.

“I was sad to learn that The Farmer’s Wife was closing,” Devine said in an email. “Robin was a great community partner, and her farm-to-table comfort food was a great piece of our dining scene.

“My family had just ordered carry out from there a few weekends ago and it was delicious as always. I hope people will continue to make a concerted effort to support our small businesses.”

Shrinking staff

At the height of their business, Mastera said she had 22 employees. Now she’s down to seven, just one full-time.

“I have servers who’ve learned how to cook, and I have a dishwasher who’s doing delivery, and I do deliveries myself, I mean, we’ve been doing everything to try to make it,” she said. “It’s been completely and ridiculously different.”

All outstanding gift certificates will be honored, Mastera said.

Though she’s disappointed to close this chapter of her culinary career, Mastera said a highlight was the people she got to serve.

Loyal customers

“The great customers and the great following and the loyalty, people are amazing,” she said. “Of course, you get a few that are a little rough around the edges, but for the most part, of the thousands of people that have come through our restaurant, they’ve been very warm and embraced our concept and what we were doing and they loved it.”

Mastera said she doesn’t know what’s next for her, but said offers have come in since the news broke.

She's received an offer to partner on a food truck, she's gotten requests about being a manager at other restaurants, and she said it's also not out of the question to go back into catering. 

"It’s in my blood and I think I’ll be back in some way or another," she said. "I just have to pick the lane I want to be in." 

Contact Bob Dohr at 262-361-9140 or bob.dohr@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BobDohr1.