Family first

If James Lowe thought he had had his annual share of bad luck when York flooded last November, he was wrong. Since then, his restaurant, Villa Italia, has had to weather the inevitable knock-on effects on business of the floods, plus the pressure on prices from the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

While Lowe's consolation is that other restaurateurs are facing the same challenges, there's one crisis that he and his team are having to deal with alone. For the past fortnight, Lowe's year-old daughter, Emily, has been in hospital with a worrying infection, forcing him to choose between his family and his fledgling business.

It wasn't a difficult choice. As a family man, Lowe has simply let the restaurant take second place. As a result, he and his wife Joanne have spent most of their time at Emily's hospital bedside, leaving the running of the restaurant to deputy restaurant manager Emma Raisbeck. "If it were an employee and it was their daughter, I would give them time off," says Lowe. "Yes, it's my livelihood, but she is my little girl."

Cost of absence

Lowe is in regular touch with the restaurant, though. Raisbeck has been phoning him about twice a day and sending him reports at the end of each night. His absence hasn't cost him much in extra staffing either, as Raisbeck has so far only brought in extra cover over the weekend - and the part-timers have filled that breach.

Taking a positive view, Lowe reckons that this crisis gives him a chance to see how the team is performing and in turn gives the team a chance to act on their own initiative. "I'm really lucky because I've got Emma and assistant restaurant manager Lee Standlick, and the kitchen is now sorted out and organised," he says. "This is the proof of the pudding."

It's extra pressure on Raisbeck, but Lowe is in the happy position of knowing she will do the best job she can and go the extra mile during Emily's illness, because she's not just his deputy but his sister-in-law. In any event, he reckons that her loyalty has already been tested by the fact she used to work with him at Tummies in Slough, Berkshire, and has taken a £4,000 pay cut to move to Villa Italia.

The rest of the team has been supportive during the crisis, too, sending pizzas to the hospital and generally mucking in. Lowe's only worry now is that Raisbeck will get so used to doing things her way that she won't settle when he comes back.

It's a potentially sore subject, as Lowe has just lost his star pizza chef, Maulo, to ambition - he quit to join pizza and pasta chain Ask's trainee management scheme. Despite the inconvenience, Lowe sees it as a good sign if staff are developing and moving on, and in that spirit he has taken on another Italian chef - a 20-year-old who wants to learn the ropes.

The deli has perhaps suffered the most from Lowe's absence. He plans to do most of the work, excluding the electrics, to convert the former storeroom into a deli, so the project is now on hold. The boys are doing their bit to help clear out the rubbish, says Lowe, but he reckons that they need his "technical direction".

In fact, the deli would have been behind schedule anyway. One of the knock-on effects of the November floods is that electricians are in great demand, so Lowe has had to wait three weeks for their services.

With or without Lowe in the hot seat, business generally is picking up following the traditional post-Christmas slump. February's figures show that Villa Italia served 1,870 covers and saw sales of £23,024 - or £11,617 after wages and food and drink costs. This is less than the £31,258 turned over in December, but about £3,000 up on January sales.

Reprinted menus

The foot-and-mouth scare might take its toll, though. Lowe says that the price of supplies has risen by 20%, forcing him to transfer some of the burden to his customers. To prevent vegetarians being penalised, he has reprinted his menus in-house and only increased the price of meat dishes, adding a note to customers to explain why. So, for instance, because he is now paying £5 for fillet steak against the usual £3.50, he has raised the menu price by £2.20 to £15.50.

It galls Lowe to do this as he fears that Villa Italia runs a risk of alienating regular local custom. The restaurant relies on this trade because of its location on Micklegate, an impossible area in which to attract passing trade. One of the tactics Lowe used this year to win loyalty from locals was to offer an affordable menu. As a result, he has tried to keep many of the dishes at around the £5 mark, and the average bill for food and drink per head at not much more than £12-£13. If customers have to pay more, he may lose them to his competition.

"I see it as a temporary problem, though," says Lowe. "I don't want to keep these prices up. I've spoken to a few restaurants and they were putting their prices up, too."

Next visit: 19 April