FOOD
Second B.C. restaurant shutdown can be avoided
Here is some context for an online commentary on Straight.com that enraged many hospitality workers
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by Charlie Smith
ast week, I ticked off a fair number of restaurant-industry workers with an online-only commentary offering 10 service tips for a pandemic. The hostile reaction indicated that the only tips they’ll ever want from me are gratuities—if I’m even allowed in the place. Here’s the fallout. It prompted many commenters to conclude I was entitled. Others thought I was a jerk. One suggested that if I entered their restaurant, someone should spit in my food. I’ve been banned from the Keefer Bar. I was described as a high-school writer and tone deaf by the owner of one restaurant that I’ve tried to promote in the past. And on it went. C’est la vie. Now for some context. I worked in the hotel business for many years, both at the front desk and waiting on tables. I worked in a hotel beer store. I was robbed at gunpoint at the front desk and at knifepoint in the beer store. I survived just fine. In addition, I worked at a fine-dining restaurant many years ago. I pay attention to service because of all of these experiences. I also know that although restaurants appear glamorous to customers, it’s a real grind. And as a hotel night auditor, I spent a fair amount of time swapping stories with people who worked in the bar and restaurant before I balanced their ledgers. Bouncers didn’t have it easy either. As a server, I attempted to be as efficient as possible. Like many working today, I would scan the room, trying to figure out what everyone needed. This ensured I could make the most of each trip onto the floor. If I was doing my job well, I would spot whether the ashtray needed replacing (yes, people smoked in restaurants then) or if the water glass needed a refill before the customer asked for this. I eat out a lot—up to four or five dinners a week. It’s one of life’s pleasures. I’m respectful to servers and I don’t bill the company for my meals. It’s probably going to come as a surprise to my critics, but I never intended this online commentary to be taken as an attack on restaurant workers. Chalk that up to my stupidity. I mentioned 10 restaurants by name in the column that did something I liked over the past year. I thought that would convey my appreciation. But it was clearly felt as an attack by many readers, even though it was an attempt to wake people up to the downside of not taking COVID-19 seriously. In retrospect, had I known it would have elicited this reaction, I would have written some things differently and acknowledged the difficulty of working in a pandemic.
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
The pandemic has been particularly tough on restaurant workers, who toil in exceptionally difficult conditions. Photo by Jay Wennington/Unsplash.
Here’s the point, folks: the Toronto restaurant business has been shut down for a second time and for a long time. There’s no dine-in service in Canada’s largest city. We certainly don’t want that in Vancouver. And if we take COVID-19 protocols seriously and address customers’ fears and concerns, we’re less likely to endure a second shutdown. The emergence of COVID variants has heightened the risk for the industry. I’m freaked about COVID, but I still eat out for dinner frequently, and for several reasons. First off, I’m busier than ever at work as a result of the pandemic. I also feel it’s imperative to support our restaurants because they’re a cornerstone of the culture of our city. It’s why I recently gave very positive reviews to two of my favourites, Les Faux Bourgeois and Maenam. One is on the East Side; one is on the West Side. Normally, reviewers visit new restaurants, but I chose to write about two of the great existing places. It’s why I highlighted one of the city’s sensational chefs, Michel Jacob at Le Crocodile, in our Best of Vancouver issue. He’s been written about a million times before, but I thought that right now he could use a boost. If we were to lose landmark restaurants like Les Faux Bourgeois, Maenam, and Le Crocodile, it would be like cutting the creative heart out of the culture of the city. Because I want restaurants to thrive, I recommended four in West Vancouver in last week’s paper. It’s why I’ve highlighted Ismaili
JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 4 / 2021
There’s no dine-in service in Canada’s largest city. – Charlie Smith
restaurants across the region, as well as a little family-run Indonesian place in Marpole. It’s why I have been encouraging our writers at every weekly story meeting since late last year to write food articles during this pandemic. I was happy when staff writer Carlito Pablo wrote last week about Grit in Port Moody. I’m glad that another staff writer, Craig Takeuchi, has made time in his busy schedule to write about several restaurants. Because live music is dead right now— unlike dine-in restaurants—I asked another writer, Mike Usinger, to write a great deal more about liquor. And he has delivered. I believe he’s writing the best weekly liquor column in Canada. He wasn’t writing a regular column on liquor before the pandemic. THE BIG PICTURE
Billionaires, most of whom live out of province, own many grocery stores. As
the percentage of food spending increases for groceries and declines for restaurants, it makes the billionaires with out-ofprovince shareholders wealthier. And it devastates the local restaurant industry, a lifeblood of our city’s culture. If all of us who are employed can all keep our restaurant food-spending percentage at prepandemic levels, we’re supporting local small businesses and keeping restaurant workers employed. I’m spending a higher percentage of my income dining out now than before the pandemic. If we can avoid being Covidiots, the restaurant trade won’t be shut down a second time, like it has been in Toronto. Kudos to Ian Tostenson at the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association and his members for all the hard work they’re doing to prevent this from happening. It’s especially important as we head toward Dine Out Vancouver. (See the story on the opposite page.) BCRFA members know that it’s better for patrons to dine in rather than pay some commission to a corporate food-delivery service. That’s because that commission also goes into the pockets of shareholders, almost all of whom don’t live here. I’ve never ordered from the corporate food-delivery services. Not once. I don’t have their apps on my phone. I pick up takeout myself at the restaurants. I’ll reiterate what I wrote in the online piece: please think about patronizing the
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