Luis
"Forget everything you know about how a kitchen used to run. If you are a graduate and are expecting to just be on one station without needing to jump in and help wash dishes, than you’re in for a rude awakening.
Things will be shaken up pretty hard, but we’ve got everything ready to take the hit. Now’s the time for action - to find new ways of generating enough business to survive.
Before all of this, food went from the back of house to the front of house to your table. Now it goes directly from the back of house to your house, - let’s see what happens. A lot of selling points will stop working, but some interesting avenues may will come alive."
Pedro
"I'm a cook. I don't consider myself a chef, I require more experience for that. But that's what I strive for everyday - to keep working to be the best I can. I've also been exploring videography as a way to correctly tell the story about the craft behind each and every dish. Everyone knows what the front of house does. To the guest, they are the face of the business and their work is displayed in full view. Everything seems under control and the guests are none the wiser. But in the back of the restaurant it can be a hostile environment. It's hard work sustained under high temperatures for long hours. It can bring out the best and worst in people, but it also reinforces the notion of camaraderie and what being part of a family is all about.
I think that during this pandemic our industry will resonate stronger within our society. People are starting to realize the role we play in society and the importance our service provides. If something positive comes out of all this, I hope it goes towards the men and women of our industry; the cooks, chefs, bakers, farmers, and everyone in between. I hope the government steps up, but if not, then it's up to us. We need to continue supporting those that feed."
Manuel
"Ive hustled through this industry since I was 16 years old. In that time I did it all; I worked in top restaurants in Spain, ran my own catering company and I even created a frozen product that was sold in grocery stores in Venezuela.
My whole life I‘ve been designed to adapt. When I had to leave Venezuela due to its internal situation, I came to Miami and had to start everything over from scratch. Over time I found an opportunity to open a tavern in Little Havana and it's from there that today I’m doing my take on Chinese food in the middle of Wynwood.
I believe the key to my success is that I always kept my eyes looking forward and to the future. I took the time to notice and analyze what was happening around me just so I could find the right path I needed to take. Sometimes I feel it’s a similar situation with Covid-19; people are waiting, listening to opposing news and watching to see what others are doing. Instead, they should be developing their own perceptions and learning how to think critically on their own. That’s the only way to continuously adapt and move forward."
Monica & Lupita
"We’re a mother and daughter team with a simple, casual concept; Covid 19 hasn’t hurt us as much as it has others. We opened as a eat-in/takeout concept, so switching to takeout only wasn’t that hard; we’ve been able to keep on most of our staff. That’s not to say our sales haven’t gone down, but we’ve been able to manage.
We started our family business over 40 years ago with a restaurant in Spain - we are committed to surviving. We have passion for this industry and we believe that’s the key. We put everything we have into our work and have developed a community around it. Restaurants will remain, but things will be different for years to come. I hope to see more ’mom & pop’ places opening, especially with an increased demand in affordability, but it’s hard to tell what will happen.
I think my advice as an owner is to use this time to get your menu the way you’ve always wanted it. As chefs we often don’t have enough time to experiment with new dishes and allow ourselves to be creative. Take this time as an opportunity to reorganize and restructure not just your business, but also your life."
Niven
"For your own sanity it’s important to stay positive. Two days after this all happened I had to furlough almost my entire team, - that was a horribly negative day. It was hard, but after that day I told myself that I had to stay positive. There’s no point in blaming anyone or of being angry, you need to adapt. You need to make it happen – that’s the only way to overcome this.
To be honest the community has been amazing. They’ve been showing up, consistently ordering and are flooding us with messages of support. That’s what keeps us going. This is the first full week I’ve been able to bring people back to work, the four weeks prior was just about grinding every hour to try and keep the business alive. We’re fortunate that 95% of our clients are local and aren’t as dependent on tourism as other are. But despite having been opened for over three years, I now feel like I’m starting all over again from zero.
I’ve been telling each one of my staff to not expect things to be like they were. Each one will have to carry more weight, wash dishes, whatever we need to stay open. But now I’m getting hopeful. I feel good about how we are trying to adapt to this 'new normal' and I’m excited to see what will happen. If you don’t pivot your business, it won’t survive. We can’t predict what will happen once we’re able to reopen but our main concern right now is the safety of our staff and the safety of our guests. We’re focused on making sure we have the right equipment for them to feel safe. My advice is to stay safe, stay smart and keep pushing everyday – don’t become complacent."
Unity
With everything going on, our journey must continue now more than ever. The sense of community needs to resonate with everyone. If you take a look inside a kitchen, we’re all about diversity and inclusion. Behind our stoves you’ll find different religions and politics, second opportunities and culture shock. But we don’t think about how these things make us different, but rather how they make us the same, - how they unite us.
.
Giannis
"It didn't feel like Easter at all.. It's usually a big day for us - it's the day that entire families get together to celebrate and share food. This year the celebrations had to be done at home, apart. Every year I get everything ready, roll up my sleeves, and get to work on our lamb roast. This year was no different. We give it our all. Even in these troubled times we are still here, doing what we do best."
Eddy
"At my age, you don’t really expect that much will change. I always thought I'd have to stay in a labor intensive job. When I started working as a dishwasher, my chef started teaching me little skills. How to make sauces, knifecuts, things like that. As I learned, things started changing. I moved up to be a linecook – a proud one. This job even changed the way I ate and how I fed my family. My life took an unexpected turn, and I owe it all the restaurant and the chef."
Jorge
“With the amount of loss there has been, we’re going to have a lot to gain once the playing fields are back open. I can tell you that no restaurant had a plan for something like this to happen, and many won’t be able to recover. It brings about a certain kind of awareness.
People need to eat and with this situation I find them to be more intrigued in the art of cooking now that they are having to cook for themselves. They are still supporting their favorite local restaurants when they can, and that is amazingly gratifying to see. But I do hope we take this opportunity to make the correct changes required. Year after year, this industry has seen less bottom-line professional workers. This is due to low pay and zero benefits – something I hope will change.
My advice to restaurants is to stay strong and stay positive – everything happens for a reason. Do whatever you need to do to keep your business running and your team afloat. Use the time to make changes in aspects you weren’t happy about. Everything won’t go back to being ‘normal’ again, but you can find hope in a new and improved normal. And for the community, support your local businesses when you can, help them through these times. This isn’t only for restaurants, but other small businesses as well. They are all working for the community and it’s our duty as citizens of the neighborhood to support them, now more than ever.”
Mike
"This has always been a very resilient industry. Even with this seemingly insurmountable crisis, you immediately saw a change. Restaurants switched their entire business models; offering make-at-home meal kits and even turning into grocery stores. We adapt. There's been amazing support from within our industry throughout this situation; both locally and beyond its been amazingly inspiring. Where there isn't enough support is with all these third party delivery companies like UberEats and PostMates. They pretend they are waiving fees in their commercials but that's only for the customer as they continue to charge restaurants up to 30% of each sale. So where's the silver lining in all of this? I believe it's in the human connection; making time for friends and family. There's a strong sense of unity in all of this, we're in it together. That's something I hope doesn't go away. And I hope there's a greater appreciation for the service our industry provides."