Restaurants, cafes find new ways to survive

One of the Krave Kurbside meal platters. -
One of the Krave Kurbside meal platters. -

Food establishments are grateful to reopen after weeks of being closed but challenges abound as many of their usual customers are non-essential and remain at home, or do not have the funds to purchase food.

They were out of business for nearly a month, from April 6 to May 9 when they were resumed operations on a scaled down basis with no dining.

While some are floundering, some are staying afloat, and others have expanded their business during this time.

Leslie Ann St John, business development consultant to many leading restaurants and advocate for the industry told Sunday Newsday, “Covid19 is quite simply an extinction level event for the hospitality industry. The entities that will exist when the dust settles are those with the instinct for survival in the DNA of the business, those with the ability to pivot into new ways of doing things, and those with the capital to weather the storm and perhaps make significant changes to their physical infrastructure.”

She said the legendary sociability of TT’s people was both an advantage and disadvantage at this time but their “love of a good lime” would carry them back to trusted restaurants and spaces, as well as fuel catering and takeout from such businesses.

Manager of Dopson’s Roti Shop in Newtown, Diana Dopson Daniel, said her shop reopened on May 11, along with may other food establishments.

She said her staff was glad to be working again but, as anticipated, business was slow so instead of opening from Monday to Saturday from 6.45 am to 5 pm, hours of work were reduced from 7 am to 4 pm. In addition, employees’ shifts were reduced to about three days a week.

She said sales were not even 50 per cent of what it used to before covid19 so the breakfast menu also had to be slashed. Previously, pies, sada roti, and fried bake were available with about 14 filler items.

“Now that it’s so slow we had to cut the menu in half, and sometimes things still remain so it really is a challenging time but we’re adapting to it and working around it.”

Daniel said some physical changes at the shop included leaving the doors open so people did not have to touch the door handle, everyone must wear masks to enter, people had to wash their hands before approaching the counter, and physical distancing was encouraged. The business was also considering installing a sink or hand sanitiser dispenser on the outside of the shop.

Another initiative was a new number, 489-2628, where people could call in to order their meals in advance so that they could just pick up their order and leave without having to wait for their meals to be made.

In addition to slow customer traffic and a reduction of staff, another challenge was the additional costs of doing business. She said there was an increase in the cost of some raw materials, and she anticipated an increase in the electricity bill as they still used the air-condition even though the doors remained open because the weather was so hot.

“We decided not to raise any prices because we know it’s a difficult time. Plus we know it won’t last forever so we’re absorbing the increase in costs for now.”

Despite these challenges, she said she was grateful that sales were gradually increasing, and that customers were still supporting the business.

Customers at Peckish Tropical Delights in Port of Spain wear masks and observing physical distancing regulations. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB - ROGER JACOB

Owner of Peckish Tropical Delights at the People’s Mall in Port of Spain, Kavell Forde, said his cafe and breakfast spot reopened at 30 per cent capacity when it came to staff and menu items.

He said before covid19, he used to order 125 pies per day as well as make sandwiches, salads, pancakes, and other breakfast items. Now, on average, he did not even sell 35 pies. He adjusted the menu, reducing it to a few items but still, most of the time, food remained.

“We are surrounded by non-essential businessplaces so at our current location things are pretty slow as we anticipated. And in addition to dealing with a drop in sales, we also have to deal with wastage. So whatever little profit you might be making from the food, it’s now gone because of the waste.”

Ramon Fernando of Peckish shows the sandwiches available at the cafe in Port of Spain. - ROGER JACOB

He recalled that three days after TT had its first case of covid19, sales dropped by 75 per cent. However, they stayed open until the end of March even though food places were allowed to remain open at that time.

On reopening however, sales dropped by another five per cent so, while they used to open from 4.30 am to 6 pm from Monday to Saturday. Now they open on Mondays to Fridays from 5 am to noon.

He added that even before covid19 they had strict policies when it came to cleaning and sanitisation so nothing changed in that respect, but they now provided hand sanitiser even though it was an over-the-counter service rather than a walk-in location.

Forde said he and many small businesses were in “a financial hole.” He lamented the slow distribution of grants and the fact that even though financial institutions were giving people more time to pay loans, they were not suspended so interest was still building.

He also worried that financial institutions and debt collectors would want to collect at the same time thinking that these businesses were making money again.

“What happens when everybody thinks things are back to normal and they say they need to get their money because they themselves are lacking an income?” he asked.

Some other restaurants fared a little better due to an availability of capital and an expansion of services.

Krave executive chef Dominique Beens. Photo courtesy Krave Restaurant -

Executive chef at Krave Restaurant in San Fernando, Belgian-born Dominique Beens explained that the restaurant now provided a limited menu for curbside pick-up and delivery called Krave Kurbside. He said it helped but, of course, it could not compare to the restaurant’s previous dine-in business.

“To make operations viable in the absence of our usual volume of guests we offer a reduced menu to better manage food cost and wastage. We have not been able to have our full team back, especially our front of the house team. But several of our waitstaff have been redeployed as delivery drivers and have been working in other group companies.”

He said reducing the menu in itself was a challenge as he had to create one that had enough variety to satisfy guests and would not be too difficult to re-plate at home successfully.

“The real innovation for us was delivery which we had never done before! But we were able to use it both as a connection to our customer and to keep some of our staff working. It was not without its challenges because a couple of customers tried to get (bartenders) Ravi and Sylvester to come in and mix them up a cocktail!”

However, business was not the only challenge Beens had to face. He told Sunday Newsday his father recently celebrated his 80th birthday and he was to visit his son in Trinidad but it was not possible. He was also very concerned for all his family in Belgium and Panama, and his team in TT during the pandemic.

Krave manager Damion Persad said when they were closed it was extremely difficult because their guests wanted to “savour an aspect of the Krave experience” at home or at their workplace, but mostly because the staff all had families to feed and commitments to meet.

He added that if it was announced that restaurants could fully reopen next week, Krave would be ready for it.

“We are fortunate to have a large dining room so we have created multiple seating plans with restricted capacity and tables significantly distanced and reconfigured. We have protocols for staff, including random temperature checks. And the reality is that we have always taken hygiene and the trust of our guests seriously and we hope that will serve us well now.”

Mirko and Sharon D’Alessio own and operate MammaMia Pizzeria and Cucina Italiana in Shoppes of Arima, and Amore Mio in Grand Bazaar. And thanks to the pandemic they now have a new brand, Pronto Mia.

Pronto Mia’s “heat and eat” offerings include pizza and lasagna. Photo courtesy MammaMia. -

Mirko explained that the trigger for Pronto Mia was a request on Facebook for a frozen version of their pizza. They began testing and refining their product and now they sell frozen versions of their signature Mamma Mia meals including beef lasagna, chicken lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, and beef meatballs in pomodoro sauce.

Their products are now available at Best Deal supermarket, St Augustine; Blooms in Diego Martin and Maraval; Happy Gourmet in Valpark, Malabar Farms and Simple Choice in Cascade, Starlite Pharmacy in Diego Martin, Maraval and South Park; and soon Uncle Beddoe’s in Santa Cruz. They are also hoping to expand to locations in central and south Trinidad.

Sharon added that, at the restaurants, they were asking customers to wear masks, to use their hand sanitiser station immediately outside the front door, and use their facilities to wash their hands for the 20 seconds or more.

Katoya, one of MammaMia’s front of the house team members, wears a face shield while working at the restaurant in Arima. Photo courtesy MammaMia. -

“Even in our social media posts we ask if you the customer is feeling unwell, to visit us when you feel better. In the same light, if our staff show signs of being unwell they will not be able to work until recovered. When dining in is re-instated then we have in the works more outdoor seating and re-organisation of the dining room to create more space between tables.”

Despite the unexpected boon, the pandemic brought some uncertainty to their lives as Mirko’s family lives in Italy. He said with everyone staying inside, businesses being closed, and his elderly parents being kept away from their grandchildren, he described his family’s situation as devastating, frightening and uncertain.

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