Local restaurants reopen for sit-down service

Sneakers, among other Winooski restaurants, is now open for sit-down service. Photo by Jenny Koppang.

As Vermont has proven successful in warding off outbreaks of COVID-19, restaurant patios off of Winooski’s main drag can now be found bustling with masked conversation and socially distanced dining. 

Amidst the pandemic, the city’s local restaurants have gingerly navigated the business-altering changes brought on by the virus. 

“The primary skill that we’ve developed since March is adaptation,” said Maggie Barch, co-owner of Our House Bistro on Main Street. 

At the mercy of ever-changing directives from the state and federal governments, Our House Bistro has undergone almost constant adjustment since March. 

“We initiated changes a week after we were allowed to do so, just to make sure all our pieces were in place.” Barch said. “So when we were allowed to do take-out service, we waited about a week to make sure we had a place, developed online ordering systems, and got another phone line.”

Our House Bistro was more recently permitted to expand beyond takeout and now offers outdoor seating and indoor seating by reservation. Throughout all stages of reopening, Barch said their central concern has been the safety of their customers and employees. 

“Making sure that our staff is safe and our customers are comfortable has been the primary focus of reopening,” Barch said. 

The staff of Our House Bistro follow rigorous procedures to ensure a hygienic dining environment. 

“Part of our new routine is cleaning and disinfecting thoroughly every two hours, taking our staff’s contact tracing information, and requiring face masks unless customer’s are eating,”  Barch said. 

Down the main strip, the restaurant Sneakers adheres to similar measures, according to Front of House Manager Amy Place. 

“We have really stringent sanitation methods. Before customers sit down, we make sure that the table, chairs, and high-touch surfaces are sanitized. Customers can either use disposable menus or they can pull up our menu on their phone,” Place said. 

Sneakers had been forced to downsize significantly to accommodate the wake of the virus, reported Place.

“We had to reduce our hours, reduce our staff, and change our menu to be more conducive to take-out,” Place said. “It was a complete change to our business model; we went from doing 95% dining in to doing 100% take-out.” 

May Jiang, a server at Asian Bistro on Winooski Falls Way, said that they too had been heavily reliant on remote take-out orders until recently.

“We now accept reservations for customers to dine-in and everyone is able to be seated six feet apart,” Jiang said. 

Through all the daunting challenges the virus presented to these local establishments, they were met with a profound outpouring of encouragement from the Winooski community. 

“The amount of support we have gotten from our community has been overwhelming. We really appreciate folks reaching out and being our customers at a time when we needed them to stay afloat,” Barth said. 

Place said that their regulars rallied together to bolster their restaurant, buying Sneakers gift cards to provide them cash flow during the bleak beginnings of the pandemic. 

“Sneakers has been in business since 1980 and the community here doesn't want to see us go. They want us to still be here when this is all over,” Place said.