The menus are changing ....
Restaurants find ways to adapt and grow in light of the pandemic shutdowns
LANSDALE >> The year of the pandemic has brought challenges none could have expected.
And local restaurants have found ways to adapt and survive, if not always thrive, throughout a year like no other.
“In the very beginning, there was so much uncertainty. We didn’t know if what they were letting us do was going to continue,” said Michael Wister, owner of Wister’s Barbecue.
“Living through all that uncertainty in the first month was brutal, just brutal. It was just instinct, because there was no manual: it was like, just do what you think is right,” he said.
Wister is one of several local restaurant owners who recently re
“We’ve experienced so many changes that we want to use this time as an opportunity to take a step back”
— Marat Mamedov, owner of Boardroom Spirits
flected on the past year, and how that week in March 2020 that saw everything shut down, led to new products, new processes, and even a few lasting changes that have helped them make it to 2021.
“At one point, I thought that we were done. Business had slowed down before the shutdown, you could see it coming, and even before that, January (2020) was a terrible month. Normally it’s ok, but then COVID came,” Wister said.
In those first few weeks, he tried to keep as many employees on board as possible, and sold bulk purchases of meat at heavily discounted prices, with proceeds going to local nonprofit food pantry Manna on Main Street to help those in need. After those first few weeks, as businesses began to reopen, their operations did too: Instead of a sit-down restaurant with seating at tables, Wister’s became pickup only, as Lansdale officials allowed several parking spaces on Main Street to be used for short-term parking only.
“We created our own little bubble for our employees, and the borough was awesome. They gave us four parking spaces out front, which helped enormously — that, and nobody was coming downtown, except to pick up food,” Wister said.
In time, federal and county aid helped keep up pay for employees, and Wister’s has gone from about a 60-40 percent split between dine-in and takeout to 100 percent takeout or delivery. On a recent Friday evening, about half a dozen staff took turns taking orders, frying and heating and packaging burgers, seafood and chicken, as orders were called in and made online, many from regular customers who have made it a point to keep shopping local.
“We have people we see every week, more than once a week, tons of regulars. We’ve assembled a huge email list, but it’s just been the weirdest thing ever,” Wister said.
As winter weather recedes and spring and summer events resume, Wister said he’s hopeful those positive trends continue, and the town can get back to more normal issues — like whether there’s enough parking downtown.
“When we’re 100 years old, and looking back on this ... a year later, we’re still here, and we’re doing alright,” he said.
Across the street at Round Guys Brewing, owner Scott Rudich said he’s also thankful to a dedicated group of regular customers who keep the place busy, especially on weekends.
“People are definitely coming in to support, but they’re going home earlier. We still get some new people on Saturdays, not just the regulars,” he said.
“There are some people that will not come out as long as there’s mask-wearing, and we can’t do anything about that. But there’s other people that get comfortable as they’re vaccinated, so we’re trying to transform, and open up the space a little bit,” he said.
Having an outdoor patio on Wood Street has helped, although that space tends not to be full when there’s snow on the ground, and Rudich said he’s looking into HVAC system upgrades to better filter the brewery’s air, and weather protections for the outdoor space. They’re also looking into ways to help the surrounding community, like nonprofits who helped their employees weather the pandemic.
“Charities have really been hit hard, by losing donations, so we’re trying to get back to that. Community collaborations have always been at the forefront for us,” Rudich said.
Recent efforts have included a fundraiser that helped send meals to Lansdale Police Department officers, and Rudich said to keep an eye out for a “National Puppy Day” event on March 21, with dog treats for four-legged visitors and proceeds from sales going to local dog rescues.
“We finally feel like we’re in a position where we can give back to the community, after a year of asking for help,” Rudich said.
A few blocks away, at Boardroom Spirits on Third Street, the first few weeks of the pandemic were devoted almost entirely to making as much hand sanitizer as possible — over 41,000 gallons at last count — and while that’s still being made, the distillery has shifted gears successfully.
“Our business model has evolved significantly in the past year, and we’ve experienced so many changes that we want to use this time as an opportunity to take a step back and determine the best course of action for the business and our employees,” said owner Marat Mamedov.
On a recent Friday afternoon, Boardroom’s production staff Max Chirkin and Kane Yuzon were setting up for one of the ways the distillery has worked within state restrictions: a private cocktail-making workshop event for staff to teach visitors, usually about 15 to 20 grouped in pods, how to make various drinks.
“These are private events, people can sign up, they’re spaced out, and people all know each other. We teach them how to make three different cocktails, it’s about two hours long, and we do trivia in between,” Chirkin said.
“In the very beginning, there was so much uncertainty. We didn’t know if what they were letting us do, was going to continue.”
— Michael Wister, owner of Wister’s Barbecue “We finally feel like we’re in a position where we can give back to the community, after a year of asking for help.”
— Scott Rudich, owner of Round Guys Brewing
“If there’s a big group, then we can section them off in the back, and the other small groups can be across the bar. They all have to sign COVID forms, and we teach them the basics of how to shake a cocktail, build a cocktail, and then stir a cocktail,” he said.
As he spoke, behind a black mask with the Boardroom logo in silver, Chirkin demonstrated the proper pouring and stirring technique, as his tray of cocktail ingredients sat next to a stack of release forms asking attendees to affirm that they haven’t tested positive or been around anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 30 days. Anyone can sign up, and the private events have proved such a hit that the side of a refrigerator is now decorated with thank-you notes from those who attend, and Chirkin said one group, calling themselves the “Workshop Regulars,” has been to every one of the Friday and Saturday night sessions so far. “The bar never opened, and will not be open. But as a private event, it’s much smoother and easier for everyone,” he said.
And while Chirkin showed off his mixing skills, Yuzon carried a case of spirits out the front door of Boardroom to a waiting customer, where signs in the driveway ask visitors to stay in their vehicle to pick up orders. Boardroom offers delivery within 30 miles of their Lansdale location, and will ship anywhere in Pennsylvania; they’ve have had visitors from as far as Staten Island and Lancaster for the workshops — and yes, the sanitizer is still available, in mini spray bottles with the Boardroom logo.
“This is perfectly fine. I don’t mind walking to a table, or wearing it at a workshop,” Chirkin said, as he adjusted his mask. “As long as people are happy, and customers show up, I’m good with it. Now, getting out of my car and not having this on, feels weird.”
Back on Main Street, Stove and Tap owner Justin Weathers said the COVID shutdowns were “beyond the impact of anything we could have ever anticipated,” as the early lockdowns led him to cut from 59 employees down to 29, before slowly building back up.
“It caused us to have to shut the whole restaurant down, lay everyone off, and really look at everything that we possibly could, as a way to stay viable,” he said.
“It’s hard to keep a restaurant that is a living, breathing ecosystem, moving and going in those situations. Even the pipes have a living ecosystem, of grease and food, and keeping up with the building, having to liquidate and clean inventory, trying not to get stuck with inventory,” Weather said.
In June 2020 Stove and Tap received permission from Lansdale borough council to use part of the adjacent Wood Street for outdoor dining, a change Weathers said was critical, since the business was not set up for takeout.
“That enabled us to really open back up. We’re just not built for (takeout). We’re a big restaurant, a full service restaurant, and to get a kitchen the size of ours, and our dining room, I really needed to figure it out,” he said.
An experiment with digital ordering via QR codes was “just a complete miss,” he added, but the combination of federal and county funds plus outdoor dining last summer kept Stove and Tap afloat, and Weathers said he “definitely sees the light” as vaccinations grow and restrictions loosen.
“What I see is, consumer confidence is on the way back. I think a lot of people have either gotten vaccinated, or see it as an appointment they have, and everyone sees that spring is going to come, and then the summer,” he said.
“Sales are still about 50 percent of what they should be right now, 50 to 60 percent, so the only thing we can do is just continue to grow, continue to give people opportunities, and then just slowly try to add jobs back, and get back to where we should be.”
What does Weathers see for the rest of 2021 and beyond?
“I think the days of us packing in tables and chairs in restaurants are over, and I think there’s also been a lot that a lot of people have learned,” he said.