86ing 2020: An in-depth look at how Vancouver restaurants fared amid COVID-19

THE ANNUS HORRIBILIS that was 2020 needs no introduction, particularly when it comes to the effects COVID-19 has had and continues to have on restaurants. Combine shutdowns and decreased capacity with pre-existing obstacles like Vancouver’s sky-high rents and redevelopment, and the local scene has been clobbered.

We lost some greats—beloved institutions helmed by some of the city’s best chefs and most talented teams.

But amid so many challenges, this year also gave rise to incredible stories of resilience, versatility, ingenuity, community, and caring. You don’t go into the food-services industry if you’re not willing to put in extremely hard work, long hours, and, during a pandemic, even longer stretches without any days off. Hats off all of those who put in the labour and love—from chefs and line cooks to bussers and dishwashers—to make Vancouver the extraordinary food city it is.

Here’s a look at how local chefs, restaurateurs, and others in the food-services sector pivoted in the best of ways and took steps to lend support to those who needed it most.

Off to a strong start…

Remember January when life was pretty much normal? We welcomed Say Mercy!, where chef Sean Reeve and the Collective Hospitality team (the Mackenzie Room) got 2020 off to a fantastic start for food lovers with its Italy meets southern barbecue menu. JOEY Shipyards opened the doors to its stunning two-level space overlooking the water near Lonsdale Quay (hosting a packed shoulder-to-shoulder party with sparkling wine flowing and fire bowls alight). Amaranthus became the first food-court eatery in B.C. to serve cocktails. (It shuttered later in the year, with co-owner Alejandro Diaz recently rebirthing it as Butcher’s Table.)

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2020 had a stellar lineup. Highlights came from its World Chef Exchange, with two collaborative multicourse meals proving unforgettable. One was Off the Hook: an Indigenous Feast. Salmon n’ Bannock Bistro hosted Maori chef Rewi Spraggon from Auckland, New Zealand (who pulled off traditional pit cooking off-site) and Enoch Cree Nation chef Shane Chartrand, author of Tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine cookbook with Jennifer Cockrall-King). Another was an authentic Mexican feast at WildTale, where then executive chef Francisco Higareda teamed up with Monterrey-based star chef Guillermo Gonzalez Beristain for a dinner with tequila and mezcal pairings. (WildTale remains temporarily closed due to COVID-19; Higareda is now at Ophelia, an excellent Mexican restaurant in Olympic Village by the same restaurant group, which runs the Flying Pig.)

Roger Ma’, executive chef of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, won the Canadian Culinary Championships 2020 with dishes that represented “Vancouver on a plate”. Photo by Leila Kwok

Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar executive chef Roger Ma dominated at the Canadian Culinary Championships in Ottawa, bringing home gold. Joe Fortes celebrated its 35th anniversary, and the Vancouver International Wine Festival went ahead with tastings, brunches, dinners, and more. Nine Dumplings, aka Nine Dishes, opened the doors at Robson Public Market’s second-level food court—its fourth address since its inception. Co-owner and chef/philosopher Yue Shen hoped to reach a wider audience, and it’s been a hit ever since with its simple, fresh boiled or steamed dumplings.

By mid-February, the B.C. Asian Restaurant Cafe Owners Association was sounding the alarm about sharp declines in clientele.

By the end of January, we were hearing more rumblings about COVID-19, with Chinese establishments and those that rely on Chinese clientele taking the early brunt. Many diners who would typically go out to celebrate Lunar New Year (January 25, 2020) cancelled their reservations. By mid-February, still a time when most non-Asians couldn’t imagine wearing face masks daily, the B.C. Asian Restaurant Cafe Owners Association was sounding the alarm about sharp declines in clientele. From food courts to dim sum restaurants, places that were normally packed were becoming startlingly quiet. It remains a struggle. (#MyChinatown is a local effort supported by Chinese Restaurant Awards the that’s encouraging people to visit the historic area to help so many small businesses make it.)

Then it was March…

Some restaurants decided to shut their doors before Dr. Bonnie Henry made it an official public health order on March 20. When the announcement came, restaurateurs were faced with an unimaginable threat to everything they had built, whether they had been in business for a year or 30. It wasn’t just their own finances and futures they were worried about; they lost sleep over having to lay off staff.

Then the pivots started happening—with swift menu and operational changes to shift from dine-in to takeout and delivery being the main move. This time last year it would have been unfathomable for fine-dining establishments like Boulevard, Hawksworth Restaurant, or St. Lawrence to pack up their meticulously crafted fare into cardboard boxes, but pivot they did, and successfully so. Now, it’s the exception rather than the norm for restaurants not to offer food to-go.

In addition to offering takeout and delivery, several restaurants added “grocery store” to their offerings. Caffe La Tana and Provence Marinaside were among those that began carrying everything from canned tomatoes to flour.

Legends Haul came to be. Pre-pandemic, the company distributed premium, sustainable, “consciously sourced” food products to hot spots like Nightingale and Kissa Tanto; its pivot led to home grocery delivery.

BCLocalRoot.ca was born, the online grocery platform stocking nothing but made-in-BC goods in an effort to see help small producers survive. (Think of all the artisans, growers, and farmers who rely on restaurants, farmers markets, and food trucks for their livelihood.)

Meal kits—like PiDGiN’s premium “Carrier PiDGiN” offerings—are now a thing.

To help restaurants avoid abhorrent fees that were charged by third-party delivery apps, Brandon Grossutti, owner of PiDGiN (highly inventive Asian-French fusion in Gastown), launched an at-cost delivery service for indie restaurants like his. Called FromTo, it has no transaction fees, marking up of restaurant prices, or percentage of gross amounts taken off the order. (On December 27, the provincial government enacted an Emergency Program Act order that will temporarily limit fees charged by food-delivery companies to 15 percent.)

Organic Ocean Seafood, founded over a decade ago by BC fishermen to help sustain their livelihoods while getting local, sustainable, premium seafood into the hands of chefs, began delivering to home cooks.

Meal kits became a thing. Fresh Ideas Start Here (FISH), PiDGiN, JOEY, Toptable Group (Blue Water Café, Thierry, Elisa Wood-Fired Grill, and CinCin Ristorante), Pepino’s Spaghetti House, Nuba, Pastificio di Luigi, Tacofino, Tacomio, ¿Cómo? Taperia, Rocky Mountain Flatbread, Takenaka, Tojo’s, and Café Medina are just a handful of the restaurants that have assembled these chef-created options for home. (They’re not only foolproof weeknight meals; they’re also a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.)

If your inner bartender is on holidays, cocktail kits from places like Dachi will make your life a whole lot easier.

It became legal for certain food businesses to deliver alcohol with food, meaning we could have everything from bottles of natural wine off Burdock & Co’s list to Cactus Club Café’s Bellini and Frosé kits appear on our doorstep. Cocktail kits remain popular, with standouts coming from the Keefer Bar, Dachi, L’Abattoir, and the Chickadee Room in Juke.

Patios popped up, and for the first time, Tourism Vancouver’s DineOut Festival held a summertime version of its January event called Dine OutSide, with prix-fixe menus to encourage people to dine in or order takeout to help bolster the industry.

Since the onset of COVID-19, industry folk have been stepping up to support others and give back to the community.

Bombay Kitchen and Bar was among the first restaurants to offer discounts to health-care workers and first responders, a gesture that quickly caught on.

Michael Tran, founder of Pacific Poke (and cofounder of the Lunch Lady, a Vietnamese restaurant on the Drive that opened during the pandemic) launched Feed the Frontline. The effort raised funds to purchase meals from places like Heritage Asian Eatery, OEB Breakfast Co., and Rocky Mountain Flatbread that were then delivered to health-care facilities, hospitals, and care homes (including the Lynn Valley Care Home, which was the first in BC to have a deadly outbreak).

Chambar co-owner Karri Green-Schuermans launched Food Coalition. Initially, the beloved Beatty Street restaurant began making free meals for residents of the Downtown Eastside so that the food it had on hand wouldn’t go to waste in the face of lockdown. The need for organized, in-place meals became obvious, and the effort grew to a community-driven partnership that provides food for those in need while helping sustain the local food-supply chain. Zaklan Heritage Farm, Glorious Organics Farm, and Fable Kitchen are just a handful of the businesses that came onboard.

The team at the Dirty Apron started its Buy a Meal for Someone in Need program. It delivers food to seniors and other vulnerable individuals in partnership with Whole Way House.

Founded by Emad Yacoub, Glowbal Restaurant Group made, donated, and delivered meals to various charities in response to the pandemic.

Glowbal Restaurant Group (which has 10 establishments, including Glowbal, Coast, Italian Kitchen, and Five Sails) prepared gourmet meals for people at Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon (which houses families who must travel to Vancouver for life-saving medical treatment for their children) and A Loving Spoonful, which supports people living with AIDS, among other charities. Vancouver Firefighter Charities kicked off the campaign, with off-duty firefighters volunteering their time to deliver meals. Of special note: this year, the Glowbal group reached a milestone, having served more than 100,000 meals to those most in need since it started 20 years ago.

The Sequoia Company of Restaurants (the Teahouse, the Sandbar, Seasons in the Park, and Cardero’s), Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktails Bar, and the Belgian Chocolate Café were among the restaurants that contributed to a community outreach program of Vancouver Firefighter Charities. Once again, off-duty firefighters volunteered to deliver care packages to vulnerable residents during their downtime.

To help hospitality workers in critical need of short-term financial assistance because of the pandemic, the folks at Superbaba and Tacofino organized the Vancouver Food and Beverage Community Relief Fund.

Countless other food-based operations, from Tayybeh: A Celebration of Syrian Cuisine (a social venture that shifted from catering to takeout and delivery of Syrian food) to Gurkha Himalayan Restaurant (a Davie Street spot specializing in Nepali cuisine), found a way to give back, providing discounts to health-care workers or donating meals to vulnerable citizens.

Industry members found ways to support each other. To help Granville Island vendors stay afloat, Michelle Ng launched the Granville Island Delivery Co.; to give a boost to vendors who would typically sell their goods at farmers markets and holiday craft fairs, Langley’s Sweet Thea Bakery put on a holiday pop-up on Main Street.

Vij’s Restaurant co-owner Meeru Dhalwala launched Feast for MOSAIC Families, encouraging people to purchase restsaurant gift certificates that are distributed to immigrant and refugee families who have limited resources and are looking to explore Vancouver through food. Alongside Vij’s are Ubuntu Canteen, Burdock and Co., Harvest Community Foods, Autostrada, and the Acorn.

BC wineries began offering free shipping and virtual tastings; some, like Township 7, donated funds to the BC Hospitality Foundation to support workers suddenly facing loss of income.

Ever-smiling, adored and highly respected chef Nathan Fong passed away in March. Photo via Nathan Fong/Facebook

The Dr. Peter Centre offered a show of support to the industry. Unable to hold its annual Passions fundraising gala, the organization that helps people living with HIV/AIDS asked diners to order food or purchase gift certificates from its partner restaurants (including Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio, Cibo Trattoria, and Maenam). The gesture was a nod to the late Nathan Fong, Passions founder and a highly respected, deeply loved chef, food stylist, and media personality who passed away in March. In addition to being a chef for the government of British Columbia, through which he cooked at high-profile events locally and around the globe, Fong was a dear friend to many, his loss being a heartbreaking blow to the city’s culinary and gay communities.

A Better Life Foundation pivoted to help marginalized individuals. Partnered with Save On Meats, ABLF provides wholesome meals—as well as job training and opportunities—to residents of the Downtown Eastside. With so many food sources having been cut off in the area because of COVID-19, founder Mark Brand’s non-profit organization responded as an essential service. It ended up serving more clients, and providing them with larger meals, while also cooking for five local firehouses. Funds from its holiday #BeingHungrySucks2020 campaign will be used to expand its Food Waste Recovery Program and Daily Meal Program and to launch a new virtual training program called Sharpen Up, which will train community members how to prepare delicious, healthy meals on a budget.

Say Mercy! created its Staff Meal program. Each ready-to-eat meal required a $2 donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Local publicist Shelley McArthur and her team at SMC Communications got the Breaking Bread initiative off the ground—a directory of restaurants offering everything from curb-side pick-up and delivery to meal prep and groceries. It went national, the list now sitting at more than 2,385 restaurants.

The year also saw the food and restaurant industry step up to support Black Lives Matter, following the murder of George Floyd.

BIPOC Foods Van was born in July, the pop-up market showcasing products by Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour-owned businesses. Tempea’s Ariela Badenas, Mithalee Rawat of Shorba Bone Broth, The Indian Pantry’s Anika Makim, and food lover Avneet Takhar founded the group, which held a second market over the holidays. Many of the vendors give back to vulnerable citizens or minority groups, partner with NGOs, and use fair-trade suppliers.

Asha Wheeldon is the founder of Kula Foods, which specializes in vegan Kenyan cuisine.

Cooking Connected started up: the online cooking lessons in partnership with local BIPOC-owned restaurants happen in Vancouver and Toronto. The first local event featured Asha Wheeldon’s Kula Kitchen, which makes vegan cuisine of her native Kenya. Harvest Community Foods and Burdcok & Co joined Bakers Against Racism in June. Proceeds from their dark chocolate sea salt cookies and apple hand pies went Hogan’s Alley Society and The UBC Innocence Project.

Indigenous restaurants and chefs took steps to bolster businesses and nourish people. Christa Bruneau-Guenther of Peguis First Nation, owner and executive chef of Winnipeg’s Feast Café Bistro, spearheaded the Indigenous Feast Boxes campaign by Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations (ICAN). Running through to January 10, the effort supports Indigenous-owned restaurants and catering services while at the same time providing meals to families and individuals in need. Vancouver’s Salmon n’ Bannock Bistro and Mr. Bannock food truck are involved in the nationwide campaign.

Remembering the restaurants that fell

Scott and Stephanie Jaeger ran the PearTree Restaurant for 23 years.

It still smarts to think of the iconic PearTree Restaurant being no longer. Chef Scott Jaeger and his wife, Stephanie, who graciously handled all things front of house, are among the best of the best. They had found ways to make things work despite COVID-19 health restrictions, then their landlord presented them with a 40 percent rent increase. We hope they find a new home soon.

We are still saddened by Federico Supper Club turning the lights out on the dance floor for the last time in April. In a statement at the time, owner Federico Fuoco said that along with a rent increase, monthly taxes, and requests for wage increases, COVID-19 was “the nail in the coffin”. The Commercial Drive establishment had been in business for more than two decades.

We miss the warmth, rustic charm, and deftly crafted pasta and pizza of Campagnolo (which stellar chef Robert Belcham, Tim Pittman, and Tom Doughty opened in 2008) and Campagnolo Upstairs. The latter opened in 2014 and was home to an outstanding wine and cocktail list by top sommelier Peter Van de Reep plus the legendary Dirty Burger. #sofuckengood. (Belcham, meanwhile, along with Hamid Salimian, Angus An, and Joël Watanabe—the same star team behind Granville Island’s dockside Popina Canteen—opened Popina Cantina in August a stone’s throw away in the Net Loft, and for that we are thankful. Van de Reep is now at newcomer Bar Gobo, a natural wine bar that’s part of the Burdock & Co. and Harvest Community Foods family.)

COVID-19 was “the nail in the coffin”.

We raise a glass to the now-shuttered Rangoli, Royal Dinette, the Reef, Cabrito Tapas, the Tuck Shoppe, Blossom Dim Sum & Grill, Tuc Craft Kitchen, Au Petit Café, Balila, Bestie, M8 Bistro and Bar, Ramenman, Jitlada Thai Restaurant, Sardine Can, the Portly Chef, Shaolin Noodle House… and so many others.

On the flip side, seemingly against all odds, several spots opened this year, pandemic be damned.

Among our favourite new places from 2020 is the aforementioned Lunch Lady. Founded by Tran and his mom, Victoria, a long-time restaurateur, and chef Benedict Lim, the Commercial Drive eatery is a collaboration with Nguyễn Thị Tần, a Ho Chi Minh City hawker whom Anthony Bourdain praised. (The famous late chef is said to have talked to Nguyễn about opening a location at his planned street hawker-inspired Market in New York.) Try the tom chien gion (crispy chili-salted prawns) and the vegan pho.

Pastry chef Andrew Han opened Kouign Café earlier this year. Photo by Christine Williams

Other restaurants born in 2020 that we love include Justin Cheung’s Potluck Hawker Eatery (inspired by South-Asian street-food markets), Cold Tea Restaurant (modern Chinese-Vietnamese with all-day dim sum), Straight and Marrow Restaurant and Bar (fourth-generation chef Chris Lim’s Asian-inspired nose-to-tail comfort food), Street Auntie Aperitivo House (modern Chinese with rotating tasting menus that each start with a dim sum basket), Torizo Ramen Bar, the Mexican-influenced Brunch Vancouver, B House Restaurant (Vietnam meets Pacific Northwest on the Drive), Noah’s Café (Japanese-Western fusion), Orizumé (high-end sushi), the Frying Pan (a bricks-and-mortar version of the food truck that makes Korean-Nashville-style fried chicken), Tutto Restaurant and Bar (approachable Italian in a sophisticated space) Anthem Pizza, Yasma (a pop-up out of Kitsilano’s Dark Table Restaurant specializing in the cuisine of the Levant, which comprises Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan), Mithai & Co (an Indian sweets shop), Bonjour Vietnam Restaurant & Bar (a secret garden in Fraserhood with contemporary Vietnamese fare), and pastry chef Andrew Han’s wonderful Kouign Café in Chinatown.

One of our picks for best new restaurants for 2020 is Yasma, which specializes in Levantine cuisine. Photo by Leila Kwok

Le Tigre food truck (by the Torafuku team) started rolling again. Some existing ventures added locations, like salad-centric Field and Social and the excellent Sula Indian Restaurant (which specializes in the cuisine of Mangalore). So did Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods (bringing the total number of locations in Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto to 10), while also launching Tractor At Home: weekly subscription boxes with a suggested rotating menu without any order minimum, delivery fee, or tax or tip.

Chef Tushar Tondvalkar launched the Indian Pantry to expand people’s understanding of Indian food; industrious sushi master Takayumi Omi opened Sashimiya, a Japanese specialty seafood shop.

Other notable moments from 2020: Uwe and Natalie Boll’s Bauhaus Restaurant shut its doors in March due to a landlord dispute; legal action is ongoing). Chef Pino Posteraro took months off for a planned, major renovation at Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca, which has emerged stronger than ever. And chef Ned Bell, founder of Chefs for Oceans and cookbook author, left Vancouver for the Okanagan, where he runs the Naramata Inn (along with his wife, Kate Colley; Maria Wiesner; and Paul Hollands).

What might 2021 have in store for our local food scene?

If COVID-19 numbers don’t come down and stay down, it’s going to be hard for many small ventures to hang on much longer. Supporting them can happen in many forms: dining in (check their health and safety protocols), getting takeout or delivery (and adding wine or cocktail kits to the order), buying gift cards, and shopping their online grocery stores.

Some places will need to up their game if they want guests to keep coming. Case in point: Bridges Restaurant. Since being purchased by Tap & Barrel owner Daniel Frankel in 2018, it has done shockingly little to improve its culinary offerings. (Disclosure: This is coming from someone who worked there for years after first moving to Vancouver in 1990 and considers the place dear to her heart. I’ve visited three times recently, once as a guest this past November as part of the media launch for the Granville Island holiday light display. The quality is just not there.)

But for the most part, people in the industry are working harder than they ever have because they genuinely love what they do, even at the worst of times. Our diverse restaurants are part of what makes Vancouver such a great place to live. We need to keep it that way. As the ad by Restaurants Canada goes, imagine life without local restaurants. No, thanks. They need us and we need them. We need each other to get through this.