12 minute read
FOOD
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
Advertisement
by Charlie Smith
Last 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.
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 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
The pandemic has been particularly tough on restaurant workers, who toil in exceptionally difficult conditions. Photo by Jay Wennington/Unsplash.
– Charlie Smith
higher-end establishments if you can afford it. That’s because they may not be able to generate as much income from takeout. And they’re the ones that have often spent more upgrading their ventilation systems to make for safer dining experiences.
Last September, our regular food writer, Gail Johnson, resigned, which saddened me. Our newsroom is much smaller because of the pandemic, but I wanted to ensure that after she left, the restaurant industry would continue to be covered. Clearly, my online commentary wasn’t how the food workers wanted this to be done. Fair enough.
But don’t even try to suggest that the restaurant industry is paying my wage, because that’s blatantly false. I laughed out loud when a high-profile bartender in our town made this claim in the comments section. That’s because years ago, many restaurants shifted marketing budgets in ways that sharply reduced advertising in media outlets like ours.
They prefer marketing with PR agencies. It’s a similar tale in other industries. As the PR industry has grown, media companies shrank to the point where publicists have trouble finding anyone to write about their clients. It’s why we no longer have the West Ender, Asian Pacific Post, and Vancouver Courier newspapers, which all provided exceptional restaurant coverage in their heyday.
Our company has spent, easily, tens of thousands more dollars each year covering food and drinks and featuring people in this local industry than we have generated in revenue. This has gone on for many years.
TO REVIEW OR NOT TO REVIEW? So now to the million-dollar question: why the hell did Charlie write that commentary if he likes the restaurant industry?
It sprang from a meal that I recently ate. The food was fine. The décor was impressive. I’ve eaten in two other restaurants owned by this group and I was very satisfied there as well.
But the service wasn’t close to what I’ve experienced at the two other places. I am not going to go into the details except to say that I didn’t feel I got my money’s worth. I went to this place specifically to review it. I don’t announce these visits beforehand.
The server was a young guy, and I think he was inexperienced. It may have been his first or second week, but maybe not. I didn’t want to get him in trouble with his bosses by writing an honest review. And I didn’t want to inflict damage on this particular establishment in a pandemic.
So, instead, I wrote a commentary that highlighted many service successes I’ve experienced during the past year. Hence, the naming of 10 restaurants that have done things I like. I could have mentioned more by name, such as Tamam and Bodega on Main, which are other favourites.
But for anyone who eats out as often as I do, there are going to be disappointments, and I wrote about them too. A chronic one is not getting water after asking for it. In fact, it happened again on January 23 at another place I visit regularly, just as I was being hammered by the commenters online.
The server, who is outstanding, apologized. I mentioned to her that the owner didn’t provide enough staffing on that evening. That was obvious because she and that restaurant’s other phenomenal server were run off their feet. The owner probably underestimated how busy it would be that night.
COVID FEARS I also know that readers were pissed about what they felt was my entitled view around seating. But from a customer’s perspective, if you’re worried about COVID-19, you don’t want to be in a high-traffic area or in proximity to people whom you suspect are not taking the pandemic seriously—particularly if there are alternatives.
I’ll share a story. I was recently in Swad in West Vancouver. An elderly woman entered without a mask. She was literally trembling in fear. She covered her mouth with her hand as she shuffled toward the table.
Even though I was eating, I immediately put on a mask to help put her mind at ease. Swad’s manager, Kamal Mroke, rushed over to the table with a mask for the woman. She immediately relaxed and was ready for her dining experience. Mroke offered an example of outstanding, thoughtful service. She appeared happy for the rest of the time I was there. I hope she returns.
This incident also influenced me to write the commentary in order to convey the “COVID complex” that some diners have and which is having such a detrimental effect on the food and beverage industry.
I know there are many people who will continue to think I’m a complete twit for highlighting the perspective of customers in the COVID era in the way that I did. Some thought I was acting like a COVID cop. But let’s keep an eye on the big picture: avoiding a restaurant shutdown.
My intention was to convey that COVID-19 is a serious issue for many diners.
COVID-19 is not only a potentially fatal respiratory illness but a circulatory disease that can cause havoc on the kidneys, brain, heart, and other internal organs. It causes cytokine storms, disrupting the immune response. Then there are the “long haulers”—about 10 percent of those admitted to hospital, according to published studies. They suffer for months after the virus clears their system.
In life, we reap what we sow, so I’ll just take my lumps for the commentary. Not much I can do about that. The critics won’t change their mind. I know that. It’s normal to feel enraged when you don’t feel you’re getting your due.
But if you’re thinking of spitting in my food, I would appreciate knowing about that in advance. That’s because I don’t want to contract COVID-19 from your saliva. g T his year’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival is the longest-lasting in its 19-year history.
Running from February 5 to March 7, Tourism Vancouver’s annual fixed-price menu feast will have more than 330 participating restaurants. That shatters the previous record of just over 300 last year.
Multicourse meals range in price from $15 to $54. This offers a tremendous bargain to diners and a fabulous opportunity to check out establishments that they’ve never tried before.
“We are grateful and delighted to have a record number of restaurant partners participating in this year’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival,” Tourism Vancouver president and CEO Royce Chwin said in a news release. “Our restaurant and hospitality partners have implemented health and safety measures to ensure a comfortable experience and to protect both guests and their employees.”
The Dine Out Vancouver website enables people to search by restaurant, menu price, cuisine, and neighbourhood.
It also makes it possible to search for menus for breakfast and brunch, lunch, and dinner, as well as for takeout, vegetarian, and gluten-free options.
“We encourage residents to stay local and support local, so that these celebrated businesses and exceptional culinary talents are here for many years to come,” Chwin said.
In addition, Dine Out Vancouver will include virtual culinary experiences, talks, and exhibits, including an online Valentine’s Day cooking class through Belgard Kitchen’s Apron Club.
The hotel industry is also participating by offering a $50 gift card for each night— up to a maximum of five nights—for those who book rooms.
This means diners can drink as much wine or craft beer as they like without having to worry about finding transportation home to the suburbs.
The festival’s charitable partner is the B.C. Hospitality Foundation, which supports industry workers in crisis due to health reasons. g
At this year’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival, more than 330 restaurants will participate, offering their customers multicourse meals ranging from $15 to $54. Photo by Dine Out Vancouver.
Record-shattering number of participants in Dine Out
by Charlie Smith
– Tourism Vancouver’s Royce Chwin
