A Slight Change of Plans BONUS: How Small Businesses Endure for Generations
May 5, 2026
Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business and host of The Unshakeables podcast, shares a mini-conversation about why family-run shops endure. He highlights adaptability, grit, and staying true to core values while adopting new tools. They explore how local businesses shape neighborhoods, threats like succession and competition, and simple ways communities can help them survive.
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Century Old Family Pasta Shop Keeps Traditions
- Borgatti's is a fourth-generation family pasta shop on Arthur Avenue that's kept original recipes and long-term customers for nearly a century.
- Ben Walter describes how families still buy the same holiday meals today and how the shop resisted cutting corners on ingredients and process.
Three Core Threats To Longstanding Small Businesses
- Major threats to legacy small businesses include lack of successor interest, neighborhood demographic shifts, and mass-manufactured competition.
- Borgatti's countered these by leaning into artisan quality and expanding online sales as the neighborhood changed.
Adaptability And Grit Define Resilient Businesses
- Adaptability and unrelenting grit are the most common traits among businesses that endure through crises.
- Walter cites examples like Borgatti's fixing a key machine at peak season and doing much work by hand to meet demand.