Pandemic doesn’t deter long-brewing plans to open eateries
New businesses signal faith in Houston’s food, drink scene
When Joey Paffel heard this summer that Throughgood Coffee and Boomtown’s Main Street location had shut their doors because of COVID-19, the nerves set in. Both places had been well known within the coffee community for the quality of their beverages, and Paffel was readying to launch a coffee shop of his own.
“It drives home that you can’t depend on having your coffee be that much better in order to survive,” said Paffel, who owns the specialty coffee company Cadenza. “You have to do something different.”
Canary Cafe, the new coffee shop in Lindale Park where he’ll oversee beverages, had been 29 months in the making. Too much time and money had been invested to back out due to the pandemic. Instead, the team quickly adjusted its concept: A stage where they had intended to host community meetings and movie screenings became a bodega where customers could buy groceries from the same local suppliers the cafe used for its menu; food items that staff had looked forward to plating was instead prepared to-go. On Sept. 3, it opened its doors.
The Houston area’s food and beverage industry, which has taken a beating from social distancing measures meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, was still down 34,800 jobs from pre-pandemic levels as of September, federal data shows. More than 32,000 restaurants across the nation have closed since the pandemic, according to Yelp. But despite a historically difficult climate for restaurants and bars, new ventures are sprouting up throughout Houston — a sign of faith in the future of the city’s food and drink scene and in local customers, many of whom have approached their purchases as a form of activism during the pandemic.
Gayla Miller and FiratOzsoy, for example, havebeen coming to Canary Cafe about twice a week since it opened in their neighborhood. On a recent Tuesday afternoon, they enjoyed lunch in the outdoor seating that looks into the cafe
through open, waist-to-ceiling windows.
“In Lindale, we’re trying very hard to support the small business owner in every way we can,” Miller said. “I’m not going to support a national chain.” They’ve also appreciated the ability to support other local vendors, such as soapmakers or farmers, through the cafe’s bodega while simultaneously saving a trip to the store.
Nida Qureshi, who sipped a drink by the windows, shared the sentiment. “I’ve really made a big effort to support small businesses, especially new ones that need help starting out,” she said.
Qureshi said she used Yelp filters and Nextdoor to learn about newly opened locations.
Ripple effect
East of downtown, sisters Krystal Robb and Linda Seale, who were planning to open a cafe called Brass Tacks, also anxiously watched the pandemic arrive in Houston. Robb dreamed of opening a place like Brass Tacks for more than a decade, ever since she took a bartending job to confront her social anxiety. In the process, she fell in love with the ability of small talk and a thoughtful gesture to brighten someone’s day and started imagining what it would be like to run a cafe or bar of her own. But when the novel coronavirus arrived at the same timeher city permits were approved, she began to worry about the health risks she would be exposing her family to by opening.
While she tried to decide what to do, neighbors who
had watched the sisters build out Brass Tacks began knocking on the door, asking if they were open.
On Aug. 22, the staff began answering — an “accidental opening,” Robb said. “We were not so ready, but we said let’s just see what it feels like, the traffic. … And you’d be surprised at how many people respect each other and keep their masks on.”
For Brass Tacks, too, the pandemic brought last-minute changes. For example, the cafe had built a series of nooks separated by walls where they had planned to install booths. Instead, they put an armchair in one nook, a rocking chair in another. Now when people come in, they ask if the nooks were originally designed for social distance. When Robb noticed that some people preferred not to come inside, she cut a walk-up order window into the outside wall.
While new establishments have been a boon for neighbors, they’re also a much-needed opportunity for those working in the industry. Houston-area food and beverage industry jobs fell to 172,000 in April from 273,800 in February, and have been slowto return. In September, the most recent month for which data are available, only 66 percent of the jobs lost had been recovered.
The number of restaurants that received permits needed to operate inMay, at the height of the shutdown, was down nearly 40 percent from the year before. While restaurants have begun to open more widely, the number of restaurants that received permits in September was still down 24 percent year over year.
So when places such as Brass Tacks open, they provide an outlet for talentwho suddenly found themselves without a job because of the pandemic.
“I didn’t know how emotional it was just hiring people,” Robb said.
Ready for changes
A large part of opening during a pandemic is planning for uncertainty.
Lori Hernandez and Paul Siwek, who plan to open Houston’s first self-serve wine bar, RootsHTX, in November in the East End, have made sure they have a to-go menu in case occupancy regulations change in response toCOVID cases.
“Really, who knows what’s going to happen in the next few weeks?” Siwek said.
Self-serve bars, popular in Europe but only recently madelegal inTexas, havean unexpected benefit at a time when the number of customers allowed onpremise is subject to unforeseen changes. Because customers can go up to a wall of wine and use a machine to pour a taster or glass, RootsHTX is able to operate with a lean staff whosehourswon’tbe greatly impacted by occupancy.
“If something happened and the occupancy went down to 50 percent or 25 percent, we’ll be able to accommodate that,” Hernandez said.
Like others, RootsHTX has invested in outdoor, socially distant seating and a robust cleaning protocol. The wine bar has installed a filter in its HVAC system meant to sanitize the air and hired a company to periodically disinfect the premises.
Such safety precautions were part of what brought customers to Canary Cafe time and time again.
“I live byWashington Avenue, where places are crowded and no one has masks on,” said Andre Douglass, who said he comes to the coffee shop three or four times a week. “Here, it feels safe.”