Latest pandemic restaurant trend brings multiple food brands under one roof These new kitchens and eateries are seizing a moment that has been gruelling for other restaurants, but is seemingly in their favour.
Author of the article: Peter Hum
Publishing date: Apr 19, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 5 minute read • Casper Kitchen Co. partners David Wen, Nara Sok, Sharif Virani, and Ulises Ortega show off a variety of food available from their brands Old s BBQ, Viet Fresh, Banh Mi Bros, and Fried Chicken for the Seoul. Photo by Errol McGihon /Postmedia
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In May last year, after the novel coronavirus began reshaping how Ottawa’s restaurants would operate, Nara Sok was convinced that running commercial kitchens with no dining rooms attached to them was the new way to go.
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Bar Laurel, the acclaimed Hintonburg haven for lovers of Spanish-inspired food and drink, will close soon because of pandemic-related pressures.
“We are at the end of our five-year lease … and due to the crazy amount of uncertainty we have decided not to renew,” the bar announced on its social media last weekend.
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Chef Jon Svazas, who owns the bar along with the Centretown restaurant Fauna, told this newspaper last month that Bar Laurel was operating before the latest lockdown at roughly 10 per cent capacity while it was still required to pay full hydro and heating bills.
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Ottawa restaurateurs who hoped to make some long-awaited profits on New Year’s Eve were furious Monday that the Ontario government’s province-wide lockdown beginning on Dec. 26 will deprive them of that income.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” said Ryan Edwards, the chef and co-owner of Le St-Laurent, the fine-dining penthouse restaurant in Ottawa’s east end. “We were really looking forward to New Year’s Eve. It was fully booked. That was going to be a nice little shot in the arm.”
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