NEWTON — A Watertown Street restaurant that just last year earned a spot on Boston Magazine’s“Best of Boston” list has announced it will close its doors at month’s end.
Moldova, at 344 Watertown St., has been in business for more than eight years. Its founders, Artur and Sandra Andronic, announced earlier this month on Facebook that current business conditions “have made it unfeasible to continue operating the restaurant as a business.”
In a recent interview with Wicked Local, Artur Andronic said the restaurant “came out of COVID-19 about $500,000 in debt.”
Some of it was accrued during a strategic expansion in 2018, but then the pandemic hit, he explained. Government relief programs helped with paying employees and other expenses, but not with loans.
“It kept adding up,” Andronic said. Moldova’s last day in business will be Dec. 29.
‘Shaky ground’:Mass. Restaurant Association survey finds industry challenged by high costs, cautious consumers
The restaurant specializes in home-style fare from the Andronics’ home country, Moldova, in eastern Europe. Popular dishes include sarmale (cabbage and grape leaves stuffed with rice, chicken and herbs, served with sour cream) and mititei (beef and pork sausages, served with fresh cabbage salad, baked potato, pickles and homemade hot sauce).
In 2023, Moldova was named by Boston Magazine as the city’s “Best Eastern European Restaurant.”
Italian restaurant is converted to one serving Andronics’ native food
The Andronics encountered challenges from the get-go.
They took over the lease of a former Italian restaurant in 2012. But due to issues with Artur’s green card, he was forced to return to Moldova for two years. The restaurant closed, but he continued paying rent for the space until they were able to reopen.
Upon Artur’s return, he and Sandra decided to convert the Italian restaurant into one serving the food they knew best — Moldovan cuisine. When Moldova opened in April 2016, diners arrived from throughout New England, including natives of Romania and Moldova who missed the food from their homelands. The next closest Moldovan restaurant at the time was in New York.
Artur Androvic said the 20-seat restaurant did so well that when a liquor store next door closed, the couple took over that space and quadrupled the size of Moldova, expanding to 88 seats in December 2018.
“It was a good 2019,” Artur said. “We had people coming. We were filling in seats. Valentine’s (Day) was packed. We were pretty happy to see something we did actually had good results.”
They had every reason to believe that 2020 would be even better. But COVID-19 completely changed the equation.
It took a while for business to pick up once restaurants were able to reopen and the threat of the virus began to subside.
“Late 2022, but mostly 2023, is when we actually felt the difference,” Artur Androvic said. “People were going out. That was our best year in business.”
It looked like things were on the right path, even early this year. However, like many other restaurant owners and businesses, it felt like things changed overnight.
The holidays weren’t as busy as the previous year.
“We used to be slammed,” Artur said. “We did not empty tables, but business was not as expected.” He estimates that this year’s profits are between 20% and 30% lower than last year.
The Androvics hired a consultant to strategize on how to boost sales, but after much analysis and consideration, they came to the difficult decision to close Moldova.
“We love the business,” Artur Androvic said. “We love what we’ve done. It’s all nice and pretty. We’ve tried and tried and tried and we’ve started getting busier again — but not to the extent that would make me comfortable to make a decision that it’s still worth the fight.”
Closing time:These eight eastern Mass. restaurants shuttered during November
He said it would have been a struggle for the next four to five years and required a full restructuring of the restaurant — with no guarantee it would help.
“The decision was purely financial,” Artur Androvic said. He said he learned a lot from the experience.
“We came in with no experience, which was also very hard and that led to a lot of expensive mistakes, which added up to the root of the problem,” he said. “But now I know how to operate a restaurant. I know what things to not do and what to focus on.”
What’s next for Moldova?
Androvic said he’s trying to find a new tenant to take over the space, but it’s unlikely to remain as Moldova. He did note that business has “really picked up” since the closing was announced.
“It’s going to be very difficult the next couple of weeks, simply keeping up with everything and being able to provide all the food people are coming here to eat and not disappoint them,” Androvic said.
He said he’ll miss the experiences and activities he planned for his customers, including concerts, wine tastings and workshops with other local businesses. He also appreciates the work of his team.
“We were lucky,” Androvic said. “I had a good team. I had a good chef that was dedicated and loyal and that played a huge role in the success of a new restaurant.”
The couple are heartbroken Moldova is closing, and even though they’re burned out, they still wish it could be saved.
“Through better or worse, through COVID and everything, they still showed up and did their work,” Androvic said. “I take responsibility for the success of the restaurant, but it doesn’t just come from one person. It’s an effort that came from a lot of people.”