Skip to main content

The Most Creative Restaurant Re-Openings During COVID-19

The restaurant industry is dealing with a real reckoning. The pandemic is shaking up the entirety of the food and drink space as we know it, on a scale not seen since Prohibition times. Calling it a pivot would be an understatement. What eateries are doing right now is more of a reinvention, or extreme adaptation to very new and very unusual circumstances.

So far, we’ve seen American cities adopt European-inspired models, closing streets to cars and setting up al fresco dining that adheres to social distancing protocols. We’ve seen restaurants rummage through their wine cellars and sell bottles to-go and dine-in institutions switch entirely to takeout. And we’ve seen chefs breaking down their recipes from home, virtually, so that viewers can replicate and taste at least something resembling the restaurant experience.

Ava Gene's family meal to go
Image used with permission by copyright holder

At Ava Gene’s in Portland, the move to takeout has been almost seamless, at least from a consumer standpoint. This is especially impressive given that the cuisine is Italian and, hence, built around the slow enjoyment of food. Prior to the pandemic, guests would routinely stay for hours enjoying Roman-centric dishes and selections from a handsome wine list.

Presently, Ava Gene’s is functioning more like a market. In fact, it’s going by the name Division Street Grocers at the moment. The website, fit with a tasty takeout menu, bills it as a spot for “wine and groceries.” An order is placed, an email is sent out with a pickup time, and the handoff is made. All without creating crowds or endangering restaurant staff.

The genius lies in the specialty store approach. Ava Gene’s has essentially morphed into a produce-stand-meets-DIY-Italian-joint. The menu includes everything from pizzas and family meal kits to mixed cases of wine and take-and-bake pasta trays. You can get fresh strawberries from a local farm or get cookie dough to bake sweets at home. Loaves of bread, pesto, granola, coffee, sardines, and so much more are available, too. It basically feels like you have access to chef Joshua McFadden’s entire kitchen, pantry and fridge included.

Submarine Hospitality

Another strong example of the high-end bodega approach is & Sons in New York. The relatively new eatery is small and therefore fairly flexible in terms of handling takeout. A self-described American ham bar, the Brooklyn spot specializes in local meats cut in house. Launched by sommelier and vintner Andre Mack, & Sons also has, as you might expect, a tantalizing selection of wines. 

Currently, the place is doing pickup orders and takeout via Caviar. The menu includes items like hickory-smoked prosciutto from Virginia, served with warm cornbread madeleines and gerkins. Smartly, and also out of necessity, the restaurant has expedited the opening of its provisions shop, dubbed & Sons Buttery. Here, folks can find specialty cheeses, homemade snacks, sandwiches, free-range eggs, IPA, and other market finds. Again, a sharp pivot to retail, bolstered by a tasteful selection of meals and goods.

Back on the West Coast, at The Tasting Kitchen in L.A., the shift has been to takeout and family-style meals for pickup on Sundays. There’s also been a commitment to keeping a similar standard of service, like what you’d experience if you were dining in and chatting up the waiter. The Venice, CA restaurant is going to the next level, allowing customers to chat with wine director Ivan Zanovello directly via WhatsApp. Imbibers can converse about wine recommendations, the backstories of certain bottles, and more.

AJ Meeker

In Europe, one restaurant is offering a dining experience that would have seemed completely absurd just a few months ago. Amsterdam’s ETEM has put together greenhouses overlooking the water for couples. Enclosed in glass and spaced appropriately, the structures are like tiny houses with incredible views. Waitstaff deliver orders with lengthy planks to limit contact. It looks a little futuristic but perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise coming from a restaurant known for its forward thinking (it’s also part of a larger arts center called Mediamatic).

Back in Portland, another restaurant is riding the strange new wave. Kachka, a Russian-inspired joint known for its dumplings and horseradish-infused vodka shots, is going full al fresco. Taking advantage of solid summer weather, the owners shifted to the restaurant’s backyard and is set to open Kachka Alfresca at the end of June. There will be 29 individually tented tables (six people max at each) and orders will continue to be done either by phone or online.

In addition to things like caviar, Cobb salad, lamb burgers, and shrimp cocktail, there will be refreshing cocktails. Summery things like guava-tinis and what the restaurant is calling “Miami Vice Slushies” will be available. One drink, “Siberian Maldives,” is informed by the classic Blue Hawaii drink and fetched its name from a toxic lake in Russia. It’s a playful twist on cuisine — and a country — normally associated with hearty fare and snow. The new version of Kachka will offer a poolside atmosphere, like something from the sunniest of Black Sea resorts.

Together, these moves reveal the creativity needed for current survival and the kind of commitment that will bring at least a slice of the old restaurant industry back to life. The food sector is forever altered but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a little fun and experiment with new ideas and health-minded concepts.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
Forget wine — Beer and cheese is an unbeatable combination
Put the corkscrew away and crack open a cold one
Beer and cheese

When one hears the term cheese pairings, wine is the beverage that most often comes to mind, we'd wager. Because, of course, it is. The pairing of wine and cheese is as classic a coupling as peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, or chocolate and strawberries. They're meant to be together. But that certainly doesn't mean that wine is the only adult beverage that can dance an alluring tango alongside everyone's favorite dairy product. Beer, as humble as its reputation can be, is also a beautiful balance to cheese's immense offering of flavors. While some may think of beer as not being as multi-dimensional and varied in its palate-pleasing capabilities as wine, this is not the case - especially now that we live in a world with so many exquisite craft beers, stouts, and lagers.
Of course, another classic accompaniment to cheese is bread or crackers. Why might that be, one might ask. Is it because we're simply in need of a starchy vessel to usher the cheese into our mouths? The answer is actually a bit deeper than that. Starches like bread and crackers are made from the same yeasty ingredients as beer, so their pairing makes perfect culinary sense.
This isn't to say, though, that one can simply pick up a hunk of cheddar and crack open a Budweiser and expect culinary artistry. The science is a bit more nuanced than that, so we're here to help you find the best pairings for your favorite beers and cheeses.

How to pair beer and cheese

Read more
Mijenta has a new cristalino tequila — here’s why bourbon fans will love it
Mijenta has a cristalino tequila perfect for bourbon drinkers
Mijenta Cristalino

If you’re new to tequila, you might not know all the terms. Even if you’re just a beginner, you probably know all about blanco, reposado, añejo, and maybe even joven. But chances are, you’re not familiar with Cristalino tequila. This reasonably contemporary style is simply añejo tequila that’s been charcoal filtered to remove its natural caramel color and various impurities.

The style is more than just a little popular. It’s actually the fastest growing style of tequila according to Nielsen data. The newest brand to get in on the Cristalino trend is Mijenta.

Read more
You may not dislike IPAs as much as you think — you’ve just tried the wrong type
There's much more to the IPA than bitter hop bombs
Beer

The IPA has been described as the cilantro of the beer world. It’s assumed by some novice drinkers that you either love it or hate it. On one hand, it’s one of the most popular beer styles in the American craft world. It’s loved by many drinkers for its liberal use of hops and fresh, crushable flavor profile.

But haters of the style dislike it because they have an assumption that all IPA beers are aggressively hopped and uncomfortably bitter. While there are IPAs that fit that criterion (and fans of that style can’t get enough of them), there are also a handful of other types of IPAs to fit any palate.
The IPA stigma

Read more