KITCHENER -- Restaurants have needed to adapt to keep operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restrictions have meant fewer dine-in customers and more people have an appetite for comfort food these days.
Thompson Tran specializes in Vietnamese food and he's putting a unique spin on his pizza recipes.
"We are doing a three-day ferment, which means it's very traditional," said Tran, who owns the Wooden Boat Food Company.
He changed up his menu because of the pandemic.
"To make sure that, by the end of the month, we are able to pay our expenses and so we looked around and said, 'Winter is coming, what does everybody like to eat?" Tran said. "It was pizza."
After closing down in the spring, Tran invested in a pizza oven and committed to overhauling his menu.
"I spent at least a month researching and practicing at home to make sure that I got it right," he said.
Dr. Sebastian Fourne, an associate professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, said restaurants were quick to adapt throughout the pandemic.
"We have seen that in a number of ways in the delivery format, in how they try to maximize the space they have and, as well, the type of the food that they offer," he said.
Loloan Lobby Bar in Uptown Waterloo has added meal kits to their takeout offerings.
"We are allowing you to come in for a quick demo," co-owner Leanne Amort said.
After the demo, the customer puts the rest of the meal together at home.
"Some of that magic of a bustling restaurant is missing and it's going to be for a while," Amort said. "It's necessary, it's understandable, so we have to adapt to service, everybody does."
Fourne said he expects business owners to continue adapting by serving comfort foods over the winter months.
Correction:
This is a corrected story. A previous version stated that Dr. Sebastian Fourne worked for University of Waterloo; in fact, he works at Wilfrid Laurier University.
