Some businesses booming in recession

The recession has many people struggling to make ends meet, but there are some businesses that are booming.

A "help wanted" sign is a scarce commodity these days but they're up at Zetti's Pizza. In just a few short months, Zetti's has grown from one pizzeria on Main Street to a second store in Amherst, and now owner John Fusco is moving into a former East Amherst restaurant on the Transit Road strip. Fusco is a transplanted New Yorker, specializing in New York style pizza.

Fusco said, "You order your pie, you watch the person make it. Our pizza is thin, it is crispy. To me, it is how a pizza should be made."

In a town whose two main food groups are pizza and wings, how did this newcomer rise to the top in a down economy?  Fusco said, "(The) bottom line is, people need to eat. If you serve them a good product, a great product, they are going to come to you."

Finding a niche can work in your favor in any kind of economy, and rentals, especially tool rentals, are in high demand.

Mark Slater, co-owner of ABC Hardware and Rentals , told News 4, he also rents to contractors, looking to hold down their own costs.

With money tight, Slater told News 4, homeowners are staying close to home, and tackling those projects they might have hired out, "They have realized, I can rent a post hole digger for $40. I can run down to a lumber yard, pick up the lumber, and I can save thousands of dollars."

But sometimes the best ideas for starting a successful business can be right under your nose, and dirty diapers are what Bob and Sara Mejak had in mind for their new venture.  Disposable diapers were marking their son Trevor miserable so Bob and Sara looked for a solution.

Sara Mejak said, "When he was a couple weeks old, he started having recurring diaper rash, and no matter what we did, we tried all different creams, we went to the doctor."

Sara's mom suggested cloth diapers, and little Trevor is now a happy camper, but the washing and soaking got to be a chore for his parents.

"So we were looking for ways to make things a little simpler. Could not find a diaper service in the area and thought, 'why don't we just start one up!' Absolutely," Sara explained.

Now Bob and Sara operate CottonTails Diaper Service out of their dining room.  They turn over the washing to a separate laundry service, and deliver the clean diapers right to their customers' door themselves.

Bob Mejak said, "We are more of a courier, and we are sorting, we are making sure that we have an absolutely stellar product that is delivered on time."

Right now, CottonTails is the only cloth diaper service in the Buffalo area.

ABC Hardware's hottest commodities are party rentals, such as tents, tables, and bounce houses.

John Fusco told News 4, once his newest Zetti's Pizza is up and running, within the next couple of months, he's opening a fourth store.