A handful of customers dropped by Vietnamese-inspired restaurant Bahn Meee in downtown Hartford during the noontime lunch hour of a recent sunny Tuesday.
Most grabbed paper bags filled with takeout orders and left after passing a few friendly words with owner Dung “G” Tran.
Tran’s small Ann Uccello Street restaurant filled about 100 orders a day before COVID-19. During the height of the pandemic, it had less than a dozen daily orders. He was forced to close his original, larger Capitol Avenue location.
Scott Smith and Steve Abrams are adjusting to a new normal.
As the new CEO and chief operating officer, respectively, of Max Hospitality formerly Max Restaurant Group it’s not only about readjusting to pre-pandemic customer traffic, but also acclimating to a daily routine without their longtime business partner, Rich Rosenthal, who retired earlier this month after 36 years.
Both Smith and Abrams had worked with Rosenthal since 1991.
“It’s a little daunting,” said Smith. “But [Steve and I] work with a great group of partners and that energizes me.”