Businesses batten down to weather lockdown
Shop owners change their hours and services as they wait to reopen
One good crepe deserves another
When Courtney and Mikael Colas first started talking about opening a crêperie in Hamilton, it was just before the pandemic got into full swing — but by the time they actually opened Le Verlan, it was Oct. 15. The couple, which already runs La Parisienne Creperie in Oakville, told The Spectator in an email they knew it wouldn’t be easy and “were ready for the challenge.”
Verlan, in the former location of Lotus and the Bee at 304 Barton St. E., has an open-concept kitchen with a few tables — although during lockdown, it’s takeout and UberEats only. The restaurant serves savoury and sweet crepes, French onion soup and French-style sandwiches, among other offerings. It also sells a selection of pantry goods such as jams, mustards and its house-made spice blend.
“Opening on Barton has had its challenges, but honestly they have mostly been centred around COVID — getting the product we want, waiting on inspections, not knowing the future of the hospitality industry and waiting on installs,” wrote the couple, who moved to Hamilton in 2018. “We have pivoted our original concept to include the Petit Marche and offer our guests options beyond dining in.”
Right now, Verlan is open every other weekend, using the “down time” of the lockdown to develop its website and curbside pickup program.
“We WILL be back to normal,” the Colas wrote to The Spectator in an email. “Once the ‘stay-at-home’ order has been lifted, we are hoping to resume our regular operating hours.”
Dessert as communication
The latest lockdown has led vegan bakeshop Dolled Up Desserts (142 James St. N.) to reduce its hours for in-store shopping, but customers can still get their sweet fix curbside. Owner Katarina Poletto, 26, says the lack of foot traffic downtown led her to reduce staffing on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and is offering curbside service only on those days. Customers who want to go in-store (in small numbers) can still do so Friday through Sunday.
Poletto launched Dolled Up Desserts in the spring of 2016 with a $3,000 grant from the City of Hamilton, The Spectator previously reported.
“If dessert is a form of communication, then the people with dietary differences are lost in translation,” states the business’ website. “Their bodies prevent them from understanding the language of dessert, and can no longer express or receive those warm emotions.”
Some of the shop’s offerings include potato chip krispie bars, dolled up caramel pretzel cookies and macarons with new flavours weekly.
Those looking to bake at home can check out the company’s baking mixes, or their recipe for vegan cannabis butter, posted on livekindly.co.
A pivot to ‘Prepared for You’
After opening in Hess Village Oct. 22, being in a constant state of flux is all Resto Chez Chloe (36 Hess St. S.) has ever known. The harsh COVID business climate forced owner Chloe St-Pierre-Grills to lay off many of her employees in December and reduce her hours as she continues to hustle to get the word out about the French home recipes sourced from her upbringing in Quebec City.
“The magic word in these uncertain times for us has been pivot, pivot, pivot,” she told The Spectator. She recently created three streams of food offerings: takeout and delivery through Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes, offering Breton crepes, soups, sandwiches, quiches and brunch; a preorder “Prepared for You” dinner menu for two or more people; and a Clean Eating program offering a week’s worth of healthy, made-fromscratch items and meals that are free from grain, sugar, soy and dairy.
The restaurant is currently operating Wednesday to Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.