Eateries do their best to persevere and adapt
Balancing act between dining ambience, safety rules
Is it possible for me to do my job and maintain the magic of fine dining if I’m in full PPE and monitoring that people don’t come too close together — never mind the infrastructure of elements like creating plastic barriers ... I don’t know. Kaitlin Doucette, Foxy, Olive & Gourmando
In early June, Premier François Legault announced Montreal restaurants would finally be able to reopen on June 22, but would have to follow strict guidelines from the Institut national de santé publique. These include meticulous hygiene rules such as handwashing stations, Plexiglas protection, two-metre physical distancing, a limited number of clients and protective gear for staff. The news was met with mixed emotions from the industry, notably those who own smaller spaces where physical distancing is challenging, if not impossible.
“There are two things that we know for certain,” said Fred Morin, of the Joe Beef restaurant group.
“It’s not going to be like before, and it’s not going to be what we think it’s going to be.”
For now, and considering their tight dining spaces, Morin says they want to go slow, keeping their dining rooms closed and sticking with takeaway service at Vin Papillon, Liverpool House and Joe Beef. At Mckiernan, they’ve put together a small rotisserie menu, available to go and for delivery.
The restaurant experience as we knew it feels surreal and far away. The industry — full of drive, resilience and strength — is doing its best to persevere and adapt, despite the catastrophic blows of recent months.
One Table, a coalition of independent Canadian restaurateurs and suppliers, estimates that 800,000 Canadian restaurant workers have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. The organization says food service is a $93-billion industry in Canada; restaurants are the fourth-largest private-sector employer in the country, accounting for 1.2 million jobs and seven per cent of the workforce.
In 2018, the Association Restauration Québec recorded that the province had almost 21,000 establishments, which created over 230,000 jobs and $13.6 billion in sales. In early April, Restaurants Canada reported that more than 175,000 of those jobs were lost, and may never return, and that nearly 10 per cent of restaurants had already closed permanently.
Kaitlin Doucette is wine director for Foxy, Olive & Gourmando and Un Po’ Di Più, and co-founder of the Montreal Restaurant Workers Relief Fund, which has provided industry staff with almost $170,000 in emergency funds. She had been speaking with owners and staff about concerns over reopening, and the new measures in place.
“Everyone in the industry is receptive to the measures themselves, but then this inevitable question of feasibility — especially within a lot of the smaller Montreal restaurant spaces — comes up. I think that’s one of the largest
concerns,” said Doucette.
She was also dealing with her own uncertainty of going back to work. For now, Olive & Gourmando and Foxy are continuing with takeout only, while Un Po’ Di Più remains closed, with plans to start takeout in July.
“I’m happy that these safety measures exist. However, is it possible for me to do my job and maintain the magic of fine dining if I’m in full PPE and monitoring that people don’t come too close together — never mind the infrastructure of elements like creating plastic barriers, or creating workflows so that there’s no cross traffic? I don’t know.”
Guillaume Laliberté, sommelier and wine director for Outremont’s acclaimed Syrian restaurant Damas, was looking on the bright side while getting ready to head back to work this week.
“Post-lockdown, the service I provide will be even more special — I can spend more time with my customers and give them extra care and attention,” he said. Damas reopened on Wednesday.
Julian Chemtov and Nathanial Tull, owners of fast casual Caribbean chain Lloydie’s, are proceeding with caution and sticking to a takeaway and delivery model.
“We are continually looking for the best way forward,” said Chemtov. “We need to find a safe balance between opening our doors and keeping everyone safe. As things progress, we will eventually open for our beloved sit-in diners, but as of now, we’ll be maintaining caution for a little while longer.”
Emma Cardarelli, executive chef and co-owner of Elena and Nora Gray, is on the same page.
“We will closely watch how it all unfolds in the next couple weeks and make our decisions based on what we see,” she said.
“We felt that the parameters put in place by the government are more for larger restaurants. There are too many variables for us to feel comfortable for our staff and our patrons.”
Elena continues to do takeout, while Nora Gray has pivoted to Cantina NG, transforming the restaurant’s more high-end Italian offerings into a thoughtful, but casual, takeout menu.