Restaurants reinvent for new reality
TMany food establishments around town already voluntarily closed at the beginning of the week in efforts to slow the spread of the virus, with some aiming to limit food waste as much as possible.
The City of Vancouver announced that it was exercising emergency powers to order all restaurants, bars, and cafés to discontinue dine-in services effective midnight on March 20.
B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, also ordered all restaurants in the province to end dinein options the same day.
That means all local dining establishments must switch to takeout and delivery services if they want to continue to operate, and some businesses are adapting to it more easily than others.
Meghan Clarke is the co-owner of Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods, which has several locations around Vancouver. She told the Straight in a phone interview that sales are down 75 percent at its downtown stores, which are usually its highest-volume spots.
But Clarke said takeout and delivery are helping, and it wasn’t that big of a shift for her business because of its grab-and-go business model.
“A lot of people are ordering online through our online order platforms. We’ve done this for a long time and we have the food on a pickup rack, and people are in and out of the stores in five seconds,” Clarke explained. “We’ve built our platform on healthy grab-and-go from day one, [and] that’s in the premise of our concept. The shift in being able to provide that is not drastic, because we’ve been doing that for the past seven years.”
Tractor Foods has just announced they have teamed up with local tech company Ready to allow for safer and more convenient ways to order takeout at its Kitsilano location.
Customers can use their phones to connect directly to the restaurant menu and order items for immediate pickup or at a later time. If they want to order at the restaurant, there will be a podium for guests to view the menu, order, and pay using only their phones.
“We will fight hard to keep being able to provide healthy, quick-service food to our community,” Clarke said. “We really believe [that] having those alternatives there are important for people.”
DownLow Chicken Shack (DL
Chicken) and DownLow Burgers are also eateries that have originally been created for takeout options, which means it’s a bit easier for these food spots to adapt to the new provincewide restaurant requirements.
“Our model was already built for it, so we have obviously had to make some adaptations every step of the way with regards to social distancing and making sure everyone is looked after and taken care of,” Doug Stephen, owner of DL Chicken and Downlow Burgers, told the Straight in a phone interview.
Besides takeout, delivery will also be an added service at the sister eateries.
“We’ve made the decision to do it in-house so we can keep as many of our own team employed as possible,” Stephen explained. “We will continue to operate as safely and responsibly as we possibly can, while maintaining employment for as long as we possibly can.”
Stephen also emphasized that he would not use food-delivery apps because he would rather maintain full staff employment and not have to raise menu prices due to those apps taking a cut of sales.
“There are some business models haven’t been able to adapt, and some staff will be in a very difficult situation in a matter of weeks,” Stephen said. “Effectively, this industry has been abandoned.”
He said he hopes the restaurant industry will change and dining establishments will adapt after this pandemic experience because he believes it won’t be the last time this happens.
For Railtown Cafe and Catering, owner Dan Olson acknowledges that his business is more equipped to switch to takeout and delivery than others in the city.
“We have meal-to-go programs, like our turkey-to-go and Easter-togo meals during the holiday seasons, so our kitchens are fully equipped for it, and we are prepared to navigate through this difficult time,” Olson wrote by email.
He has also launched a new meal program that offers large individual heat-and-serve portions. Special discounts are being given to all pandemic frontline workers.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t also a challenging time for Olson and his restaurant and catering business. Railtown has shuttered all four of its brickand-mortar locations, creating hardships for those workers. Its catering side has also scaled back operations.
“It is very sad times for our hospitality industry, especially staff that has been with us for a long time,” Olson added. “It is survival of the fittest at the moment, [and] we are taking it one day at a time.”
It’s a different story for Vancouver restaurants traditionally known for their dine-in experience. Unlike businesses that can easily switch to takeout and delivery, there’s a much steeper curve for learning and adapting.
Tojo’s Restaurant is one of the most iconic dining establishments in Vancouver. Proprietor and chef Hidekazu Tojo has been serving his awardwinning Japanese cuisine for decades, and he has regulars enjoying his food at the bar or in its expansive dining room every day of the week.
But everything has changed for Tojo.
“You know, I am 70 years old, [and] this is the worst case ever in my life,” Tojo told the Straight in a phone interview. “We have employed many people, some for a long, long time. But we need to change our restaurant style to survive.”
He’s using his creative mind to adjust to the new restaurant regulations.
Tojo has created a new menu, which will be available for pick-up and delivery Monday through Saturday, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. It includes dishes like a chirashi (“scattered”) sashimi and veggie bowl, signature rolls, various starters and salads, nigiri, tempura, and larger entrées.
He said that sourcing imported seafood has been hard, and he will focus on featuring local seafood and vegetables from organic farmers. Special discounts and complimentary dishes will be offered to those working in the frontlines.
Don’t expect to find Tojo’s on any food-delivery apps, because delivery will be done by staff.
“We thought it would be nice to have the connection with our customers and make sure all our staff are still able to work,” Tojo said. “We have lots of customers calling me and saying they miss my food. That’s why we make a very limited menu for to-go.”
Yuwa Japanese Cuisine is another restaurant that primarily focuses on creating a unique dine-in experience for guests. It’s a neighbourhood eatery that used to offer a small amount of takeout food for regular customers, but never with this new kind of capacity.
“This is, obviously, a big shift for us,” Yuwa owner Iori Kataoka told the Straight by phone. “The takeout response has been small, [because] we still have to let people know that we are doing takeout.” She said she hopes to have delivery service soon.
Kataoka is working closely with the restaurant’s chef to create a suitable menu for their new business method. Bento boxes and sushi and sashimi platters are in consideration for the to-go menu.
“We are trying to survive through it and, most importantly, we have to keep employing people even though we don’t make money here,” she added.
When asked what percentage of business she thinks that takeout and delivery might help recover, Kataoka didn’t have a definitive answer.
“It’s really hard to say at this moment. We have to consider what people are looking for. We cannot just stick with what we have been doing,” she said. “If I can do 50 percent, [then] I can retain a certain number of people, that’s for sure. That’s kind of our goal.”
It’s not all stormy weather for Yuwa, though. Kataoka said many of the restaurant’s regulars are calling and saying they want to offer support.
“We get really nice messages from our customers, and we are feeling very thankful for all our regulars,” Kataoka said.
Vancouver’s restaurants are going through a rough patch, but many owners are using their creativity to help them get through these difficult times.
Say Mercy has created a “staff meal” menu of dishes that range from $5 to $10 that can be purchased to eat fresh or freeze for later. In the spirit of giving back to the community, each order placed will require a $2 donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
Although Ugly Dumpling chef and owner Darren Gee emphasized that his restaurant wasn’t just a dumpling house, he is now helping his small business survive by selling its handmade dumplings in frozen form, which has garnered plenty of interest and support from the community.
Popular spots within the Aburi Restaurants group, such as Miku, Minami, and Gyoza Bar, are also introducing to-go menu options for takeout and delivery. Food lovers will be able to get takeout items like a deluxe sushi platter for three, an aburi sushi bento box, ramen, curry, gyozas, and more.
For those who want an easy directory to find takeout menus for pickup or delivery around town, check out the Breaking Bread initiative: a central hub for restaurants across B.C. and beyond offering everything from curbside pickup to delivery, and services from meal prep to groceries.
Gourmands may not be able to dine in at their favourite restaurants during the pandemic, but it’s for the best: social distancing will help flatten the infection curve. And, to be honest, eating your favourite foods in the comfort of your own home might be the best of both worlds.
We need to change our restaurant style in order to survive.
– Hidekazu Tojo