Yellowknife restaurateurs open doors, thank supporters, fear future

Dinku Tadesse remembers the regular who came in for takeout and left a $250 tip. Others would order one dish and pay for two.

"They tried to help us," said the co-owner of Zehabesha, which serves traditional Ethiopian food in downtown Yellowknife.  

Tadesse also recalls another man who came to pick up some takeout. A few minutes later, the phone rang. It was the man's wife, volunteering to come in and help with the phone and cash register. She did it for several days.

That kind of support was a big encouragement after Tadesse faced the sudden halt to his business this March.

After nearly three months with no dine-in customers, Tadesse opened Zehabesha's doors again on June 15. He's now serving lunch and dinner to about 15 people, while still serving takeout. 

That's far fewer than the 55 his dining room is licensed to serve, but it's a start to what he hopes will be a return to normal. 

When that is, however, is anybody's guess. Under the N.W.T.'s Emerging Wisely plan, restaurants are expected to remain at limited capacity until a second wave of the coronavirus has come and gone. 

At Bullock's Bistro, co-owner Jo-Ann Martin said they're doing their best to adapt. 

The patio and dining room are now open to a limited number of customers, with a few changes. There's clear plastic sheeting between the bar and the cooking area. You don't serve yourself drinks, and no hugging the staff.

"For our comfort, cozy feel — it takes away a little bit of it," said Martin. 

The community support is fantastic and we're grateful for that.- Jo-Ann Martin, Bullock's Bistro

She guesses her food sales are down about 70 per cent from this time last year.

On the plus side, she spent much of April and May focusing on a new part of the business: bottling and selling the restaurant's signature fish sauce and salad dressing. That kept the kitchen busy, and paid some of the bills. You can now buy both sauces at grocery stores around town.

It was, she admits, "perfect timing." 

She's now working on a lunch menu she hopes will draw in more customers. She's also continuing to sell fresh bread, which has been a growing part of the business recently. 

"The community support is fantastic and we're grateful for that," she said.

Without tourists, future unknown

Elke Richter reopened Elke's Table two and a half weeks ago. 

"People actually were waiting in line," she said, for the opportunity to enjoy the patio.

She's now serving customers while juggling takeout orders.

"It's been great so far, but it could be more people, of course."

Limiting the number of customers, Richter said, hasn't been an issue — with no tourists in the city, there aren't enough customers to turn away. 

Tadesse has the same problem. At Zehabesha, tourists often filled his entire restaurant. 

The future without them, he said, is unknown. 

But he points to the multiple awards posted on his wall, including a 2019 plaque from TripAdvisor, which ranked Zehabesha number one out of 47 restaurants in Yellowknife. 

"If we are not surviving," he said, "I don't know if the rest of the restaurants will be surviving."