If you open a brand new restaurant during a pandemic, does that qualify you as nuts?

If you open a brand new restaurant during a pandemic, does that qualify you as nuts?
It might. Opening a restaurant when there's no pandemic around is something that requires a little insanity in the first place. Even when the economy is just buzzing along, restaurants fail. A lot of them. What I think I read was that for every ten restaurants that open today, five years from now, eight of those ten restaurants will either be out of business, or owned by someone else. And that's when the economy is going good. Some people shouldn't be in the restaurant business. Some don't start out with enough of a financial cushion to start out with. Some open restaurants in "jinxed" locations, and the curse doesn't reverse. Some are great cooks but can't run a business. Some have health issues, or the economy implodes. There's all kinds of reasons why restaurants have to cease operating.

And yet, here we are.  People are still opening restaurants. Restaurants opened during the pandemic were planned before the pandemic. Nobody consciously chooses to open a restaurant where you have to enforce social distancing, enforce mask wearing, greatly limit capacity, protect your employees and the public, and operate from one day to the next not knowing when the next ball will drop. The economy is not exactly thriving right now. People are still legitimately cautious about dining in at a restaurant. If you have a restaurant that you plan on opening, do you open it now? Do you wait a few months? Do you give up the idea entirely, stay home, grow a long beard, and develop a taste for Fruit Loops?

All the restaurants around here closed in mid March. Some reopened shortly thereafter as take out and delivery places, many restaurants are still doing just that. A few months ago, restaurants were given the go ahead for indoor dining, with either  25 or 50 percent capacity, depending on what phase, as pronounced by the Governor, we are in. 

Some restaurants have not reopened at all.  The Yankee Grill is gone permanently. There are some restaurants in Renton that haven't re-opened, but I expect them to.  I think they're waiting until things become a little less crazy and unpredictable, There's a lot of uncertainty, and some restaurateurs don't want to risk getting sick, or have their customers or employees get sick. They also want to make sure that when they do reopen, it's at the point where people feel more comfortable going out to eat.  Many people are not that comfortable with the idea of dining in a restaurant right now. There are some larger places that need to be busy, and have their dining rooms filled in order to make any money. Some Renton notables still closed include the Red House, The Local 907, and the Berliner.  These are places that need to be busy, at least at times. I'm rooting for them all to come back. The 907 has now reopened for takeout, but I haven't tried them since their reopening. I'm looking forward to eating those delicious nachos again.

Some places have adapted to the circumstances and are open in different ways than they were before. Smoking Monkey Pizza (613 S 3rd St, Renton) is now order at the counter and bus your own dishes.  No more lunch buffet, but the menu has enlarged, there are a few more pizzas ( The Mediterranean is great!), and they now have calzones. It's also one of the least expensive places to refill a growler full of beer.

The Whistle Stop Ale House  (809 S 4th St, Renton) chose not to reopen indoor dining until very recently. But they dramatically expanded their outdoor dining space, utilizing their parking lot. It's still pretty easy to find a parking spot within a block or two. You go in through in one door, and exit from the outside. It's done very thoughtfully, with tables and chairs situated as apart as possible to maintain social distancing. The Portobello Station sandwich continues to be one of the best sandwiches on the planet.

Cloudbreak Cafe in Kennydale, (1302 N 30th, Renton) is one of those places that opening during the pandemic. It's a coffee shop with high quality sandwiches made elsewhere and sold on the premises. The coffee is great, the roasted veggie sandwich I had was great, and the atmosphere pleasant. Food trucks show up there at times some evenings, and they stay open til 10.

Just north of the Renton city limits, on the way to Seattle, Laina's (9701 Rainier Ave S, Seattle) is a Friday-Sunday only ice cream shop attached to the Stone House Cafe. Ice cream happens to be one of my major weaknesses, so I had to check them out. More than once. The ice cream is awesome. Pictured is the two scoop Ube and coconut ice creams. 

In beautiful downtown Renton, Yummy Meats and Deli recently opened where Heaven Sent Fried Chicken was, adjacent to the Renton Civic Theatre, and next door to the estimable New Zen Sushi( 509 S 3rd St, Renton)

 I haven't tried Yummy yet, but in the interest of science, I may have to temporarily give up my vegetarianism and have a spicy fried chicken sandwich. Yummy calls themselves Szechuan style Nashville fried chicken. Nashville fried chicken has become very popular all over, and they have apparently added a walk up window for takeout.

The place that many remember as Lermond's( 111 Airport Way, Renton), which was a hookah place for the last couple of years, and before that a Nepalese restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant before that, the Black River Inn for a while,  and was built as the Jolly Boy, is being remodeled to become a Mexican seafood restaurant. I love Mexican food, and I love seafood. It had a pretty long run as Lermond's, maybe 20+ years.  It's close to home, and given my propensities toward Mexican cuisine and for seafood, I'm sure I'll try them early. 

Finally, they're doing some extensive remodeling at the establishment at 3rd and Park( 247 Park Avenue N) in north Renton, kitty corner from the Satori elementary school. It's going to be a sister to White Center's Crawfish House, which I've been to and liked. Viet-Cajun. Seafood boils. Fun, messy and tasty. 

I'm glad these places are opening, and I wish them well. It's a good sign that there's hope and vitality out there. I'm not saying they're not nuts, but we'd be nowhere if it weren't for people with courage.