November 2021

Schnitzel Forever, 119 Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 0UD (020 7419 0022). Starters £ 7 – £ 10, main courses £ 9.50 – £ 25, desserts £ 4.50 – £ 6.50, wines from £ 24

Schnitzel Forever, a small restaurant in Stoke Newington, London, is the cornerstone of a thriving street chain with many outposts across the country. He doesn’t quite know it yet. It’s not overwhelming with slight praise. We are, of course, bound to worship the independent rather than the mass-produced cookie cutter, and we do. Even the very word “chain” makes people tremble. I recently realized that I was substituting the word “group” to describe a restaurant chain with multiple outposts that I admire, so as not to smear it with the rancid stench of chain corporatism.

But, in truth, the eight-strong Dishoom, which I really like, is just a channel by another name. And the ever-delicious Hawksmoor steakmongers, now with 12 outlets, isn’t that a chain too? Over the years, brands like Piccolino (18 branches), Côte (over 80) and Nando’s (3,207,565) have served me well. Many channels are, of course, where the hope and the ingredients go to die. Oh Frankie & Benny’s, how do I hate you? Let me count the ways. And while I do, please wipe down your overly long dropdowns. But some can be a reassuring presence on a devastated and destroyed main street.

The point is, I could well imagine these good guys being joined by a deployed version of Schnitzel Forever, whose name tells you most of what you need to know. Right now it’s a small stand-alone restaurant serving flattened things, which have been breaded and fried. Crispy, browned and fried foods are, as we all know, the right foods. Schnitzel Forever is total crowd pleaser, only without the crowds.

I should declare moderate interest here or maybe, more precisely, ridiculous and exaggerated obsession. In 2007, I published an infinitely brilliant novel titled The headquarters of the Oyster House, about a hostage-taking in a restaurant kitchen on the night of the 1983 general election. Schnitzel provides a key plot point. In this case, it is a wiener holstein, a wiener schnitzel with the addition of a fried egg, anchovies and veal jus. The yolk and the sauce lubricate the crispy fried veal; anchovies add extra poke. I would hesitate to call it the pinnacle of Mitteleuropean culinary success, but not for very long.

In my novel, The Hostage Taker, knowing that he has to make demands of the police negotiators, panics and reads a list of ingredients on a piece of paper stuck to the wall. A policeman, who is also a passionate cook, notices that he has forgotten the anchovies, adds them to the order and so a dialogue begins. I’m not sure why this book hasn’t been made into a big movie yet, possibly starring Christopher Walken as the cutlet. The film rights remain available.

Pretty much the only iteration of the dish missing from the menu at Schnitzel Forever is, in this case, the Wiener Holstein. I’ll let it go because it’s my obsession, not theirs (Fischer’s at Marylebone in London makes a really good one.) The dishes, bread them and then fry them. They’re tan and crisp and £ 10-13 for the basic, which completely covers the plate, at a great price. There is also a halloumi cutlet, a portobello mushroom cutlet and something involving sea bass. All plans are covered.

In the “specials” section, priced only for teenagers, the plate cover becomes a raft for additional ingredients. The classic Viennese schnitzel, made as it should be with veal, is served with a seriously vinegared potato salad, accompanied by a pitcher of rich and sticky demi-glace. The cordon bleu contains emmental cheese, ham and mashed potatoes. With “el granjero”, it’s mashed avocado, jalapeño pickles, lime and more demi-glace. Or you can decorate your own by applying some punchy sauces and relish. I especially liked the Bloody Mary ketchup and the apple and cider brandy chutney. The availability of a curry sauce allows them to include a menu item called katsu schnitzel, which will lead some of my friends to thoughts of violence. In this case, I’m just the reporter. Quite naturally, breaded fried things like to be stuffed into a brioche bun and called a burger. For £ 12.50 you can have a Tower schnitzel burger with a triple layer of veal, pork and chicken.

The point here is that a unique and compelling idea has been saddled up and pushed as far as possible until sunset. There is a really good coleslaw with white cabbage for £ 5, although I would like to stop the kitchen from adding sour cream to the cucumber salad. This makes what should be a shiny, crispy foil for fried products, strangely cloying. Hilariously, the commitment to breading and frying things extends to the entrees, where squid and tiger shrimp get the same treatment. In keeping with their desire to be ubiquitous on Main Street, the underwhelming desserts are usually overly sweet spongy products – a double chocolate brownie, a sticky caramel pudding – most of which are bought elsewhere. Apparently they make their own apple strudel, but it’s not the night we’re there.

Like birthday cakes and ambitions, a full cutlet should never be small and being so, few of the ones we see ordered tonight are finished. No matter. They started by doing the delivery during the various lockouts and as a result they have pizza style boxes to wrap the leftovers with. It is clear that the delivery business remains strong; Throughout the evening there is a constant stream of horse riders who come to bring the joy of schnitzel to the sofas in North London. How much I have to admit that it is not unique. The sophisticated folks of Middlesbrough have a long tradition of take-out parmo: essentially a chicken or pork cutlet, topped with a cheese bechamel sauce. All greet the mighty parmo.

I love Schnitzel Forever. It’s a good idea, well priced and well executed. This extends to the design of the restaurant. We tend to only notice such things when we have spent a lot of money. Here, a modest space has been cleverly laid out, with sleek black and white tiling, cream banquettes, and the clever use of cloudy plexiglass panels behind which hide tropical fronds of easy-care pure plastic to make the room larger. Like the menu, everything works. If you soon see a queue at the door, assume that these are hospitality industry investors. Or people who really like cutlets.

New bites

I have long been a huge fan of Riley’s Fish Shack, on Tynemouth Beach east of Newcastle, but have always feared for them whenever winter storms come. Now they have Riley’s Fish Shop, a brick and mortar restaurant (and retail operation). The ever-changing chalkboard menu features whole sea bass and turbot, and various fillets alongside lobster and oyster platters from Lindisfarne as well as game dishes. TO rileysfishshop.com.

The results of the annual London restaurant scene survey conducted by participatory restaurant guide Harden’s are available. Along with the unsurprising news of a slew of closures due to the pandemic, comes glaring accounts of price inflation in the upper part of the capital. In the 2020 guide, there was only one location, The Araki sushi restaurant, with an average spend of £ 200 per person. Now there are seven. The number of restaurants with an average value of £ 150 per capita has increased from nine to 24. Visit durcit.com

And another look at the challenges facing the hospitality industry: the end of the holiday regime and the moratorium on liquidation requests that had prevented creditors from taking action to recover the money they were owed, combined with the need to repay government loans, all now have a serious impact. Restaurant bankruptcies in the UK rose 31% in the last quarter, from 226 to 296.

Email Jay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ jayrayner1

A restaurateur who has owned several establishments plans to open what he calls his “perfect location” in Pewaukee in early December.

Llazar Konda’s Beach House Bistro has a smooth opening on December 3-4 and is expected to be fully open after that.

The small restaurant is located at 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. Suite 1J, village of Pewaukee. The location was previously home to the Italian Ruggeri Market, which closed in May.

“The reception I get from the community is amazing,” said Konda.

Konda previously owned Meli and the Crepe Cafe, both in Waukesha. Meli offered a menu of small and large plates, as well as a mix of sandwiches.

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The Beach House Bistro menu will focus on small, shareable plates.

“I like to call it a small plate restaurant more than Mediterranean,” said Konda, from Athens, Greece.

The menu will include falafels.

“It’s called street food in Europe,” Konda said. “It’s a beautiful, healthy and complete item to have on the menu. “

Local cold meats and cheeses will also be served at the bistro.

Konda, who has been in the restaurant business for 25 years, also owned two restaurants in Athens.

To learn more, visit facebook.com/thebeachhousebistro.

Contact Evan Frank at (262) 361-9138 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at @Evanfrank_LCP.

With small businesses around the corner on Saturday, heads of state are also hoping to see some support for local restaurants.

The last holiday season, when Covid-19 cases escalated and the weather turned colder, that meant a lot of empty dining rooms. But this holiday season, local restaurants are more optimistic that hungry people will have their backs after a harsh period at the height of the pandemic.

“It’s all over the place. We’ve had a really great time and we’ve had some really tough times,” said Anthony Stewart, general manager of Que Whiskey Kitchen in Southington.

But the upscale staff at Que Whiskey Kitchen are grateful this Thanksgiving for their customers.

“We have a potluck today. I thought we were going to have some smoked turkeys at the best barbecue place in town, ”said Lenny Murtishi of Plantsville.
In the smokehouse behind their Southington dig, dedicated chefs prepare more than 70 birds for collection.

“A lot of people have bigger gatherings with their families, so it’s like you know, let us take something off your plate,” said Stewart.

Restaurant owners are betting on Wednesday evening and the next vacation to boost business.

In Hartford at Parkville Market, the dining room owner reflected on what he was grateful for – all the support he received when opening during a pandemic.

“I had no choice, it was built. It cost so much money. I had to find a way to pay for it,” said Carlos Mouta.

Mouta became moved as he described all the help he received from the Small Business Association helping him get loans to stay afloat for the hungry people who followed.
“They really helped me,” Mouta said in tears.

Building on the success of the food hall, the heads of state made a suggestion, asking people to dine at local restaurants for the holiday season and beyond.

“We survived,” said Deco Carvalho, of Brazilian Gula Grill at Parkville Market. “We are here and I think next year will be promising.”

With alfresco dining a less popular option in cold weather, the CT Restaurant Association reminds everyone that an on-site dinner or pickup will mean so much more.

“So we’re going to need support to get through this winter. With the challenges of the labor shortage, with the challenges of rising costs, all of these companies are facing,” said Scott Dolch, executive director of the CT Restaurant Association. .

Is bigger is better when it comes to glamorous New York restaurants?

Considering the many large-scale restaurants that have recently opened in the city, some restaurateurs say yes. Forget the uninspired places that flip table after table at a brisk pace and serve mass-produced food: we’re talking about bustling places where dining is an event, reservations are a hot ticket, and design is a talking point. major.

Take Ci Siamo, Danny Meyer’s and chef Hillary Sterling’s new Italian restaurant in Manhattan West. The two-level spot spans nearly 8,000 square feet and features an open plan kitchen, living room, main dining room with a wood-burning oven, outdoor patio, and private dining room with Empire views State Building. Just try to reserve a table, even at 5pm on a Tuesday night, and luckily if you come in.

New York interior design firm Goodrich is behind the aesthetic, which is both modern and warm, according to company founder Matthew Goodrich. “It’s a great setting, but we wanted it to be intimate,” he says.

To amplify the wood-fired menu, Goodrich turned to the elements formed by fire: terracotta, ceramics, metals and blown glass. The main dining room features a terracotta wall painting, for example, and ceramic columns of red tiles. In addition, the fixtures incorporate metals and blown glass. Vintage furniture from European and US markets can be found throughout the space – the magnifying glass cabinet behind the host stand which is filled with Italian vases from the 1940s and 1950s is especially worth a visit.

In anticipation of upcoming openings, Avra ​​Rockefeller makes its spring debut at Rockefeller Center and measures 17,000 square feet spread over three levels. It will be able to accommodate 340 guests, according to co-founder Nick Tsoulos, who adds that he and his partners love the energy of large rooms. “They are dynamic and look like destinations,” he says.

Soup isn’t just for when it’s cold outside. Just ask the folks who run some of Door County’s soup joints.

“We also sell a lot on hot summer days,” said Sarah Gibson, co-owner and general manager of Jackson Harbor Soup & Sandwiches on Washington Island.

“Even in the summer it’s surprising how much soup we sell,” said Susan Guthrie, co-owner of the Bluefront Cafe in Sturgeon Bay. “I’m like, ‘Really? It’s 90 degrees in there!'”

That said, this is the time of year when temperatures drop and winds blow coldly in Wisconsin. Not to mention the autumn rains, with sleet and snow probably not far behind.

And when that happens, people who are out in this weather – like holiday shopping, enjoying fall or winter recreation, attending a tree-lighting ceremony – and are ready for lunch. are often looking for something warm and filling to warm their icy bones. Like the soup.

Most Door County restaurants have soup on their menu, but many make a point of creating and serving unique soups made from scratch that diners are unlikely to find in other restaurants, let alone. in a box at the grocery store. One of those locations, The Summer Kitchen in Ephraim, is not open during the colder seasons, typically closing on the weekends after Halloween.

Here’s a quick look at three restaurants on the Peninsula that currently have a steaming cup or bowl of something special for lunch on a cold day.

Bluefront Cafe, Sturgeon Bay

The Bluefront only has one soup of the day on its menu (although now that it is November it also has an Asian noodle bowl which is truly an everyday soup), but it won’t be like a soup that you will find in most places. How about moqueca (a Brazilian fish stew), butternut squash with maple curry or a Tex-Mex corn chowder?

Guthrie said she, chef and co-owner Patrick Barbercheck and their kitchen staff have suggestions and are free to experiment. Chef Adriana Zumpeno-Stack from Brazil created the moqueca that ended up on the menu, for example, and sometimes a soup is made from what is normally a main course, like Indian soup chicken tikka masala with coriander and lime rice.

“(The different soups) are more interesting to us, and we’re interested in different ethnic flavors,” Guthrie said. “And, we have talented cooks in the kitchen who like to do different things … do different things. We prefer to make just one good soup a day.”

Guthrie said that of the 10 to 12 different soups the Bluefront serves each month, the Thai-style and curry-based soups have proven popular with customers, as have the chowder and chili varieties in the cafe, such as a chili made from butternut squash. . One of his favorites, besides the various curry and coconut soups, is the Chicken and Meatball Soup that Zumpeno-Stack makes from scratch, right down to the meatballs.

Local produce is used wherever possible – you won’t find coconuts in Door County for curry – and can influence the menu as well. Guthrie said that when corn is plentiful in the summer at Sully’s Produce, for example, many corn chowders are made.

Besides the homemade taste, she said she thinks diners appreciate the variety and effort involved in creating and making such soups.

“(The variety) is very well received,” Guthrie said. “You can go to a lot of places to get the usual. A lot of places are just bagged porridge.”

The Bluefront Cafe is located at 86 W. Maple St. Soups are served by the cup, bowl or pint and in combination with half sandwiches. Open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday (closed in January). For soup of the day and specials, visit facebook.com/86wmaple; for more information call 920-743-9218 or visit thebluefrontcafe.com.

Czarnuska Soup Bar, Ephraim

Named after a black seed popular in Polish cuisine, Czarnuska is one of Ephraim’s most popular establishments, offering a rotating menu of four soups and two sandwiches each day. The soups are made from scratch much like soups in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Central America and West Africa, according to its Facebook page.

Bohemian potato chowder is an everyday item, but the rotation includes soups like khao soi (a Thai curry noodle soup with beef and pickled mustard greens), sesame kielbasa, Spicy ginger, black-eyed peas and andouille, cheddar bratwurst and kraut, and miso roasted parsnip, to name a few. More familiar soups like rustic beans and ham are also on the menu.

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Czarnuska Soup Bar is located at 9922 Water St. Hours of operation are 11 am to 3 pm Thursday through Monday. Soups are served by the cup or bowl. For the daily menu or more information, visit the Facebook page “Czarnuska Soup Bar”.

Jackson Harbor Soup and Sandwiches, Washington Island

This restaurant just off the Rock Island Ferry dock on the northeast side of the island offers three soups each day – baked French onion, beer and cheddar, and Gibson’s favorite, Grammy’s Creamy Potato – as well as two to four more soups of the day made by Gibson’s sister, Becca Gibson.

Gibson said their location is one of the keys to the restaurant’s success, giving people traveling to and from Rock Island the chance to grab a soup and a sandwich or a salad. The other is the food itself, of course.

“There are a lot of places for burgers,” she said. “There aren’t many places for a soup with a sandwich.”

Bisques are popular soups among customers, like the recently served shrimp bisque, and the pumpkin black bean and Thai coconut shrimp soups have also gone really well this year, Gibson said.

Other unique soups that have recently appeared on the menu are whitefish or salmon chowders, chorizo ​​hominy, chili corn chowder and ginger carrot, as well as a borscht prepared in recognition of the Russian employee. of the establishment. These soups join old school favorites like creamy chicken and rice, Italian marriage, and split peas and ham.

Jackson Harbor Soup & Sandwiches can be found at 1904 Indian Point Road. Fall hours are 11 am to 3 pm Thursday to Monday; the restaurant closes for the season on november 27 and reopens in april. Soups are served by the cup, bowl (bread bowls available), and pint with half sandwich combos available. For daily soups and daily specials, visit facebook.com/jacksonharborsoup; for more information call 920-847-2589 or visit jacksonharborsoup.com.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or [email protected]

Whether it’s fried chicken or a chopped barbecue sandwich, Davidson County residents don’t want to skip lunch, according to a recent social media poll.

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Readers who voted in the poll for their favorite Davidson County lunch restaurants offered many suggestions. Votes have shown that apparently the top five places for lunch in the county are located within a mile of each other in Lexington.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be asking Dispatch readers to tell us about their favorite local businesses across various categories through social media posts. We hope to highlight some of our readers’ favorites such as the best place for lunch, the best pizza place, the best boutique for women’s clothing and more.

We’ll create a top five list (or more in case of a tie) based on our readers’ votes and tell you a bit more about each company. Check back each week to The Dispatch’s Facebook and Twitter page to see which category of reader’s choice we’ll highlight next. Look for social media posts this week asking readers what are the best places to eat steak in Davidson County.

Here are the results of the reader’s choice for the best local restaurants for lunch.

1. JJ’s Mama’s Soulfood & More

Address: 601 W. Fith Ave, Lexington

Working hours: 12 p.m.-6.30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 12 pm-7.30pm Friday and Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

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Price level: $$

Famous for: “I didn’t have anything wrong there. I love her spring rolls, oxtails and rice, fried chicken, greens, green beans and macaroni and cheese. sometimes seafood too. potatoes and salmon patties are to die for. I would definitely recommend his restaurant to anyone !! ” – Facebook commentator Raneisha Ariél.

2. Main Street Pizza and Deli

Address: 13 N Main St., Lexington

Working hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 4.30 p.m.-6.30 p.m. Tuesday

Price level: $$

Famous for: “Roast beef sandwich and hot fudge cake for dessert.” – Facebook commentator Diane Grant Miller

3. South lunch

Address: 26 S. Railroad Street, Lexington

Working hours: 11 am-7:30pm Tuesday to Friday

Price level: $$

Know for: “Fried chicken, country steak; they have a lot of food choices and it’s delicious! ” – Facebook commentator Michael Miller

4. BBQ center

Address: 900 N Main St., Lexington

Working hours: 11 am-9pm Monday to Saturday

Price level: $

Know for: “A chopped sandwich and a side of hush puppies with a Cheerwine at the BBQ Center is hard to beat.” – Facebook commentator Garland Beamer

5. Grill Village

Address: 31 W. Second Ave., Lexington

Working hours: 11 am-9pm Monday to Saturday; 11 am-3pm Sunday

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Price level: $$

Know for: “Chicken Finger.” – Tiffany Everhart, Facebook commentator

– Jill Doss-Raines is The Dispatch’s senior reporter on trending topics and personality profiles and is always on the lookout for advice on entertainment businesses and events, secret and new menu items and interesting people in the county. by Davidson. Contact me at [email protected] and subscribe to the-dispatch.com.

On a typical afternoon in a typical year, Detroit restaurateur Tom Teknos says the ten-year-old Hudson Cafe Woodward Avenue is normally bustling with downtown office workers stopping by for lunch.

“Obviously during the day we’ve had a lot of business people and a lot of business lunches here. The restoration was [also] a huge, huge part of our business, ”Teknos recalls.

That changed in 2020, when the 20-year industry veteran was forced to lay off 100 of his 134 employees at six restaurants, including Hudson Cafe and the Serrated forkMetro Detroit’s five locations, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Like many local restaurants, Hudson Cafe, which is open for breakfast and lunch, has been forced to pivot, switching to a take-out model that saw revenue drop 45% last year.

“I’ve never had to fire anyone in my life,” Teknos says. “It still bothers me to this day.”

The Hudson Cafe was able to resume its in-person meals last summer, staff were brought back and earlier this year the restaurant’s income finally rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. However, Teknos says he recently noticed an increase in takeout orders as fall sets in – a trend that other Michigan restaurateurs have expressed concern about as health officials continue to push back. sound the alarm about increase in new cases COVID-19 statewide.

Among state restaurateurs, 58% said in August that their establishments had “seen a drop in customer demand for on-site indoor dining in recent weeks due to the increase in coronavirus cases due to to the Delta variant ”, according to Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association data. Of those, 23% said their restaurant was unlikely to be open again in six months if business stayed the same.

As crowds increase, restaurants in the Detroit area still face huge hurdles during the ongoing pandemic. Photo: Steve Koss.

The virus isn’t the only challenge local restaurants face this fall, as staff shortages, delivery delays and supply chain issues create stubborn new hurdles for owners and staff before their second. pandemic winter.

For Teknos, the pandemic has highlighted the links between its industry and others. Shortage of affordable parking for staff due to nearby lots closed amid the pandemic, restaurant opening an hour later to accommodate employees with school-aged children (Teknos says work-life balance is a priority), unpredictable deliveries and rising business costs have all required big adjustments for the small restaurant in recent months.

“Previously my deliveries would arrive here at 5 am and we would start getting ready at 6 am, but today, for example, they arrived at 9 am, so everything is sort of delaying,” says Teknos.

These delays are linked to larger issues in the global supply chain, which has experienced staff shortages and other challenges since last year and has impacted a variety of businesses at all levels, contributing to the rising costs of products and ingredients that many business owners rely on to operate – costs Teknos says it can only pass them on to its customers a certain number of times.

“I had to increase our prices twice in the last year,” Teknos explains. “But I can’t charge people $ 30 for an omelet. “

Bash Original Izakaya opened in 2020, amid the COVID-19 upheaval. Photo: Steve Koss.

Against all odds

Across town to Bash Original Izakaya, which opened last year in Woodbridge just before the pandemic hits, owners and staff have had an equally unpredictable year.

“We knew it would take a while to become really profitable, just because typically when we look for restaurants it takes 18-24 months,” says co-owner Ben Nolan. “What’s really cool is that we hit [that goal] even with COVID.

Shifting from a traditional izakaya to offering take-out sushi in response to restrictions on indoor dining last year, Bash was able to build a following amid the pandemic even as a brand new restaurant. Nolan attributes their success, which has defied even his own expectations, to a variety of factors, including a talented team of chefs, clever marketing tactics, and experienced management who put the financial well-being of the servers first – a decision that has maybe helped to avoid a potential endowment. shortage.

Tom Myers (left) and Ben Nolan of Bash Original Izakaya have been able to overcome the challenges of COVID-19, but still face the same issues as other local restaurateurs. Photo: Steve Koss.

“We were paying the waiters $ 10 an hour when it was just take out […] When we reopened, I said, “We’re going to stay at that number,” co-owner Tom Myers said, adding that he was concerned about losing staff to busier and more established restaurants amid the pandemic. The plan worked, and Bash was able to keep 90% of its employees (around 15 people) by offering higher hourly wages until the restaurant could fill its dining room again.

As a brand new restaurant with no established clientele, marketing has been another area of ​​concern throughout the pandemic – it was addressed by hiring a marketing company that specializes in promoting restaurants and using the reach of apps from popular food delivery to alleviate the loss of pedestrian traffic in the neighborhood.

Although Nolan says the delivery apps were “instrumental” in attracting customers and promoting the new restaurant, their fees, which he said were around 30% of gross revenue, were high.

Photo: Steve KossStill, Bash was able to turn a profit earlier this year (Nolan says they’re now bringing in about three times as much business as in 2020), and even landed top-tier restaurant clients over the summer. , including several local and visiting professional teams. when the sport returned.

Despite their success, Myers and Nolan admit there are still challenges in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. Like many of their fellow local restaurateurs, they have also experienced delivery delays and had to contend with ever increasing ingredient costs in recent months.

“Every day is the ‘big unknown’ at this point,” Myers says. “All I can do is compare it to where we were last winter. “

Yanni Dionisopoulos has witnessed a decline in the number of customers at Woodbridge Pub, thanks to remote and virtual working trends. Photo: Nick Hagen.

Defend an inheritance

One block to Woodbridge Pub, a popular hotspot for neighborhood residents and Wayne State University students, co-owner Yanni Dionisopoulos struggled to set new hours of operation last year as the college and offices in proximity were going virtual, draining the restaurant’s normally busy lunch hours – a trend that continued into this fall.

Since reopening last summer, the Woodbridge Pub remained open for dinner only, with revenues down 30-40% from pre-pandemic levels.

“When the school is in person, fully, we will reconsider [opening for lunch]Dionisopoulos says, explaining that the daylight hours are still not busy enough to bring in what he describes as an already overloaded staff of six, compared to the usual 12.

“We only have a handful of employees since our reopening. We were very lucky that they stayed and helped even during the long hours, ”he says.

Like other local restaurateurs, Dionisopoulos says supply chain issues and product shortages have compounded his challenges this year, with prices for ingredients and supplies nearly quadrupling pre-pandemic costs – an issue to which Dioisopoulos has also been confronted with the other restaurants he operates in the city. , prompting him to remove certain items from the menu.

“It’s definitely a challenge. It’s very overwhelming and very frustrating because we’ve been in the business for over 21 years and found ourselves in a new standard where it’s not as sustainable, ”Dionisopoulos said. “It costs you dearly when you have to raise your prices on something that was very cheap before COVID. “

In Greektown, Dionisopoulos is also co-owner of the Golden Fleece (the oldest restaurant in the area was originally opened by his father and uncle in April 1970), Exodus Lounge, and Bakalikon, a Greek market in which he and his partner started working just before the pandemic. As a Greek-American whose family business has operated there for more than 50 years, Dionisopoulos says the market was part of an effort to preserve Greektown’s authentic Greek culture and heritage – something that, he says could be lost over time as businesses struggle.

“One of the reasons we continued [market] was for foot traffic, ”Dionisopoulos said, noting that visitors to the typically touristy district have declined over the past two years as casinos, sports, concerts and other events normally draw crowds, as well as visitors from Canada. , were all choked by the virus. As a result, activity was lower than initially expected.

At Golden Fleece, lunch has returned with a bang, although Dionisopoulos says dinner remained unpredictable after returning to food service last year, with unusually late spikes and sometimes erratic weekends.

Amid the uncertainty, Dionisopoulos remains hesitant to set expectations as he prepares for the coming winter, although he is grateful for the support he has received from his loyal customers throughout the pandemic. .

“I’ll be completely honest – I don’t have high expectations right now. I’m just grateful to be here, ”Dionisopoulos says. “We’re still in business and still open and able to make ends meet, even without making a profit. But we can only tolerate this for such a long time, so we expect a better spring and a better summer next year.

Photo: Steve Koss.