EDIFY: You were planning to open a butcher shop this spring; you’re already offering some butcher packs for people to take home …
CF: In some ways, we’re accelerating the opening of the butcher shop. We’re trying to provide all those products in a pre-order kind of way. Also, being under construction, we’re trying to close in on an opening. That’s a whole new ballgame. I mean, all our finances are wrapped up in something that’s under construction, so that’s an added pressure, of course. And the only thing, up until this point, that had been providing revenue for us was providing intimate dining experiences in a small, cozy dining room. So, having to lead a team, we’re quite small, down to a skeleton crew, trying to keep them motivated, trying to connect to the community during this time has definitely been an uphill battle.
EDIFY: Your take-out menu is available online and went out via e-mail. What has the support been like?
BL: The reaction’s been really good. We’ve been happy to see that people want to order our food. We’re trying to keep everything very price sensitive, eight-dollar pot pies and 15-dollar pierogy and sausage dinners. It’s definitely where we’re headed with this. It’s been nice to see people ordering and excited to come and pick up. We are excited to do it, but we are running at about 20 per cent of our regular volume. It is allowing us to keep on every staff member who hasn’t been self-quarantined. Anyone who said they’re feeling ill, they’re all off. We’re just trying to make this happen so we keep supporting the crew and the team that wants to work and, when this is over, to get back to full service.
CF: We also have some pretty strict guidelines in place. We’re not letting anybody in the restaurant (dining room) at this time. We’re working a fine line right now. We are preserving the recommendations for social distancing while also trying to stay alive economically.
EDIFY: And to preserve social distancing, in case you’re wondering, we are doing this interview over the phone.