Dome forests, villas: For Naperville establishments, it’s ‘adapt or die’
Solemn Oath Brewery’s parking lot resembles a forest this winter, complete with see-through igloos. The exterior of Fiamme Pizza, meanwhile, has multiple tiny villas and greenhouses surrounding the restaurant.
The two Naperville establishments took creative and expensive approaches to provide outdoor seating for customers this winter amid a pandemic and indoor dining restrictions with domes, winter villas and greenhouses.
“We have to roll with the punches. We either have to adapt or die,” Fiamme general manager Preston Gaspar said.
“Building the Solemn Oath Community Dome Forest gives us a chance to allow people to still come support our little brewery,” Solemn Oath President John Barley said.
Fiamme, 19 N. Washington St., adorned its villas and greenhouses with holiday andwinter decorations to fit the season. Each option — which can seat up to six — can be booked for 90 minutes. Employees wipe down and disinfect the villas and greenhouses after each use, including the use of sprayers.
Like Fiamme, Solemn Oath’s domes are available to parties no greater than six for 90 minutes at most. Barley said the domes are disinfected, wiped down, and aired out between parties.
The brewery’s Community Dome Forest features multiple domes nearly 12 feet in diameter; fake trees and mulch give the site at Solemn Oath, 1661 Quincy
Ave., a forest-like feel.
Theforest idea originated in the summer as they pondered winter dining and seating, opting for the dome forest because it isolated parties to their ownbubbles.
“One of our beers, Strange Old Woods, draws visual inspiration from the Aurora Borealis rolling over a completely dark forest,” Barley said in an email “We wanted to bring a little bit of majestic forest fairy tale right here to our parking lot inNaperville.”
Theoutdoor options have proven popular with the two businesses. Gaspar said Fiamme’s six villas and six greenhouses are booked into mid-January, with additional villas coming, he said.
“I feel very safe in here,” said Cassie Dietrich, who had a late lunch with her friend Carly Lofgren inside one of Fiamme’s greenhouses on Friday. “I can socialize (at a restaurant) which is very important to me… We still need to get out and socialize.”
Solemn Oath’s domes have been at or near capac
ity since introducing them last month, Barley said.
“Early to mid-week is typically a little more open but Friday/Saturday/Sunday have been almost completely booked,” he said. “People are planning further and further out to secure domes for the weekends. We’re booking reservations for Christmas and NewYears Eve already.”
Gaspar described Fiamme’s investment as “colossal,” given the $18,000 price tag. The cost includes Fiamme’s purchase of the greenhouses, renting the portable containers, labor, decorations, and more.
Gaspar said they scrambled to come up with an outdoor dining option once the state imposed indoor dining restrictions this fall. Somerestaurantsdefiedand continue to defy the order, but Fiamme wanted to follow the restrictions and chose to find other options, he said.
Ultimately, Fiamme opted for the villas and greenhouses. Gaspar, contractors, and some restaurant employees spent two weeks working on the outdoor project before unveiling it inNovember.
Gaspar acknowledged how fortunate they were to make an investment in a project some restaurants cannot afford. The project was necessary for customers to come and to keep staff employed, he said.
“The goal wasn’t to be even in sales or up in sales.
What we really wanted to do is provide an experience that is memorable,” he said. “So many restaurants have closed, so many people are still unemployed or taken a severe loss in compensation. It gives customers something to do, a positive experience, that they can still go out and enjoy themselves.
“By all means, I’m willing to help others,” Gaspar said on fielding calls from other businesses pondering outdoor dining this winter. “I know these times are dark, who knows when we’re going to come out of this rut.”
Since the summer, Solemn Oath has spent about $60,000 in outdoor seating expenses — about half of it going toward the “winterization” of the taproom, Barley said. Its taproom is vital to Solemn Oath’s financial stability, he said.
“With the challenges of very few people in the Midwest being able to go to bars and restaurants, about 60% of our wholesale business vanished since no one has been buying draft beer,” he added.
“We are fortunate in size to have performed well at Solemn Oath Brewery-supportive liquor and grocery chain stores all summer, but the soul of our business still lives right at the brewery.”
Both businesses said they intend to bring back their winter options insomeform next year.