When the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly hit the world in March 2020, many restaurants were faced with the task of navigating their business throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Restaurants such as Aunt Chilada’s and Side Street Bar & Grill in Hamden, Connecticut, had to adapt due to Hamden’s government enforcing new protocols such as an in-person dining limit, wearing face coverings, and social-distancing six feet apart.
At the peak of the pandemic, the owner of Aunt Chilada’s, Charles Hague, and owner of Side Street Bar & Grill, Dave DeNicola Sr., were faced with a great number of challenges due to the unknowns surrounding the initial stages of the pandemic.
Two years later, with COVID-19 being under more control with fewer regulations, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for both Hamden restaurants. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic not being entirely over, these two restaurants are now finally operating like how they operated prior to the pandemic.
In 2020, Aunt Chilada’s was one of those restaurants that had to eliminate indoor dining due to Connecticut’s COVID-19 protocols. Its timeline to see its customers back in person was a bit quicker than other places. In May of 2020, Aunt Chilada’s allowed 25% outdoor dining, and a month later it allowed 25% indoor dining, with its bar being closed the entire time.
In terms of getting its food and drinks to customers, Aunt Chilada’s decided to use delivery services such as Grubhub and Uber Eats. Hague appreciated the fact Grubhub and Uber Eats helped his business but was also cognizant of the financial strain it causes to do that.
(Photo by Justin Blicht)
“It was kind of a half-full, half-empty situation,” Hague said. “It was great to get the business, but we were giving up a great chunk of the sales to the providers who delivered for us.”
Many restaurants during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic started using food delivery services such as Grubhub and Uber Eats as an alternative for eating at restaurants. Hague would sign up and use one of the delivery services to cater to his restaurant’s customers.
The customers would first choose this restaurant and would see the full menu of what they are offering. Next, they would order what they wanted. Then they would pay the regular fee plus the delivery and fee of the service.
Food delivery services, especially during the peak of COVID-19, had many positives since it was one of the only options to get food from a restaurant. However, it was not the best for restaurant owners because a large amount of the money the customer paid through the delivery service is given to these services and not to the actual restaurants. All delivery services require extra fees, so they can also make a profit which takes away from the full restaurant sale.
Now, as of Feb. 28, 2022, Hague doesn’t have to live and die by the delivery option because customers are coming back into the restaurant with more regularity. A pivotal factor in this increase in dining is the Connecticut mask mandate being lifted, which has enabled Aunt Chilada’s to get a majority of their customers back.
Another luxury for Aunt Chilada’s is that other places aren’t so lucky to be conveniently located 1.4 miles away from Quinnipiac University. As a result, a lot of Quinnipiac students go to Aunt Chilada’s on Friday nights for the scene of the bar and nightlife.
Adam Kane, a former student at Quinnipiac who was a senior when the pandemic hit in 2020, recalls how students suddenly stopped going to Aunt Chilada’s.
“A ton of seniors at Quinnipiac would go to Aunt Chilada’s every Friday before the pandemic hit in my final semester at school,” Kane said. “However, once the pandemic hit, nobody wanted to take a chance of getting COVID-19. We went to Aunt Chilada’s up until spring break until everything went into lockdown.”
Two years later, Aunt Chilada’s is seeing a multitude of Quinnipiac students coming into the place on Friday nights consistently. Hague is also seeing the greatest number of customers he’s seen in two years with COVID regulations being mitigated.
“There is hope for optimism,” Hague said. “The warmer weather is going to help a lot; people aren’t obligated to wear masks anymore and we are finally getting back to square one in terms of where we were before the pandemic.”
Like Aunt Chilada’s, Side Street Bar & Grill was one of many restaurants that was impacted by COVID-19 and had to fully eradicate in-door dining because of government regulations and COVID-19 guidelines. This regulation was enforced in March of 2020, which hurt the business of Side Street Bar & Grill for the time being.
Despite indoor dining and takeout coming back to Side Street Bar & Grill a month and a half later in April 2020, Owner Dave DeNicola Sr. felt as if he wasn’t garnering enough business due to the lack of customers coming into his restaurant. To compensate for that lack of business, DeNicola Sr. added a delivery option in September of 2020.
“Two years ago, at the start of the pandemic when we returned in April, we were doing a lot of takeout orders, typically more than usual,” DeNicola Sr. said. “Then we added a delivery option. We never delivered prior to the pandemic, but given the circumstances, we now deliver through apps such as DoorDash and Grubhub.”
With the luxury of delivery being implemented into the restaurant, it paid major dividends for Side Street Bar & Grille during the pandemic because in addition to delivery, as of March 2022, they also have in-door dining, curbside pickup, and take-out.
David DeNicola Jr., who is the son of owner DeNicola Sr. and a waiter at the restaurant, believes that the delivery option that his dad implemented isn’t a full necessity anymore.
“With COVID-19 dying down and the weather opening up, we don’t need to be so dependent on the delivery option like we were at the height of the pandemic,” DeNicola Jr said. “People don’t have to wear masks anymore, so I feel like our in-door dining is finally fully back to normal. The delivery option is a nice fallback, but not the number one priority anymore.”
Matthew Miller, a senior at Quinnipiac University, has been eating at Side Street during his four years in Connecticut. Side Street is one of his favorite restaurants in Hamden for a variety of reasons.
“First off, I would say the owner is really nice and everybody at the restaurant is super friendly,” Miller said. “Then when it comes to the food, the popcorn, pretzels and fries are all my favorite foods at the restaurant. I was upset when I couldn’t eat regularly at Side Street during the pandemic because I really enjoy the restaurant’s environment and being with my friends. However, I was still able to eat their food by using Grubhub.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the capacity of Side Street Bar & Grill was never in jeopardy, as the restaurant had full capacity for their indoor and outdoor seating. However, when the pandemic materialized and Side Street made its return in May of 2020, their indoor capacity went from 100% to about 25%, while their outdoor capacity went from 100% to 10%.
Although Side Street Bar & Grill’s indoor and outdoor capacity diminished, two years later the numbers are more encouraging. With the spread of COVID-19 being less severe in October 2021. Side Street Bar & Grill’s indoor capacity is 90%, while the outdoor capacity is at 60%.
After two years of face coverings, social distancing rules and all the COVID-19 protocols, Side Street Bar & Grill and Aunt Chilada’s are slowly but surely getting back to some sense of normalcy.