Diners can sit inside tent on Minnesota, this is outside Good Drop Bottle Shoppe. 

This year, nice weather has lingered into October, allowing diners and restaurants to enjoy the benefits of outdoor seating. As cold weather has arrived, restaurants are looking for safe dine-in opportunities and solutions for supplementing loss of revenue from scant indoor seating.

Some restaurant owners are contemplating if they want to continue outdoor seating. Others are rethinking takeout menus and specials. Any solutions must be safe and make customers and staff feel comfortable about patronizing local restaurants.

“It’s been like opening a new business every other week because things are changing so rapidly. We are constantly adjusting,” quipped 900 Wall’s executive chef and co-owner Cliff Eslinger. As the popular downtown restaurant looks at solutions, they must consider how they will handle snow removal and heating if they continue outdoor dining.

Getting creative

Likewise, next-door neighbor, Joolz is weighing options. They currently have a wedding tent with walls set up outside. The walls limit air circulation and don’t add enough heat. Owner Juli Stonelake Hamden discussed the viability of the outdoor tent. “I’m concerned that people will reserve a table outdoors then realize how cold it is to sit out there. And we won’t have room for them to come inside.”

A wedding tent with walls now covers the deck on Minnesota Avenue that provided outdoor seating for Bos Taurus, Dogwood and Good Drop Wine Shoppe. They have opted to use a propane run forced air furnace to warm the tent. Cloth dividers separate Bos Taurus from the other dining areas inside. Bos Taurus General Manager Benjamin Richardson pointed out that air flows through the walls and ceiling, as evidenced by the undulating sides of the tent. He mentioned that they plan on decorating the tent with (non-working) chandeliers to add a little elegance.

Probably the most creative outdoor solution goes to San Simón in Tin Pan Alley. They built three small wooden structures that look like rural bus shelters. Each table house fits one table and has a tin roof. A candle and flowers add ambiance, along with antique classroom chairs inside. Heating is coming soon, which will also help with other outdoor tables that can be used on clear days.

Zydeco downtown has extremely limited indoor seating. Over the summer, they had outdoor dining and offered dinners on the lawn at the Athletic Club of Bend as the Helt’s other restaurant, Bistro 28, is located there.

Steve Helt, the executive chef and owner of the restaurants, talked to me about converting Bistro 28 into “Zydeco West.” “There is more space for a good number of seats so we can space more than 6-feet distancing between tables to allow people to feel comfortable. We have plexiglass between booths and one way in, one way out markers.” This is not just another Zydeco dining room. “We got creative and took the top three or four items from Zydeco and the top four items we serve at Bistro and put them on one menu. We’ve blended the two concepts.”

Zydeco is committed to health and safety. Helt said that the staff recently had meetings with the Deschutes County health department to refresh COVID protocols. “We need to come together as a community and do what’s right. I know it hurts. The longer we all don’t get in the same canoe here and realize that this is important — it makes it harder. We just need to follow the protocols that are in place to get through this faster.”

Washington Kitchen and Cocktails in NorthWest Crossing has had the luxury of a large outdoor seating area with several heaters. Owner Ted Swigert discussed that they plan on adding a retractable awning. The addition of the awning and plastic covering on two sides to block the wind should make eating outdoors viable on mild winter days. Swigert also talked about how the neighborhood community has supported the restaurant with curbside takeout orders that have made up for the indoor tables they had to remove.

Chow is another restaurant that is turning the challenges into opportunities. In the next few weeks, they will build a roof over the side patio (something they had considered in the past) and add heaters. There are continuing discussions of opening in the evening for casual dining with live music.

Special take-out menus

Take out business has become the lifeblood of many local restaurants. As we move into winter and the holidays, many are enhancing their menus and offering specials.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Joolz has been offering takeout like never before. But they have had a long-standing catering business. Groups of any size can get a catered meal delivered safely to their home or business.

Hamden told me about some of their creative holiday takeout options. During December, they are planning a “12 days of Christmas” subscription takeout. Customers will be able to stop by each of the 12 days for a special meal or menu item. In the coming weeks, be sure to check the Joolz Facebook page or website to learn more about it.

Now that Baltazar’s large patio is no longer a viable option in the cold weather, the restaurant has brought back the nightly dinner specials that were offered early in the pandemic shutdown. Each special includes two dinner entrees for $55. The night we tried it, we found it to be a considerable amount of food — enough for dinner for two nights. The Seafood Fajitas featured enormous scallops and prawns flown in from Mazatlan. They are sizzled with halibut, onions, peppers and giant mushrooms. The sweetness of the seafood, caramelized onions and peppers played against cool guacamole and pico de gallo. It was served with a choice of flour or corn tortillas. A second entree included a generous serving of carne asada that was equally tasty and tender. Both came with large sides of refried black beans and rice with peas and carrots. Daily specials are posted on owner Baltazar Chavez’s Facebook page or call the restaurant.

Bethlyn’s Global Fusion has adopted a new trend popping up at restaurants around the country. Owner Bethlyn Rider is creating a “ghost restaurant.” Only available via delivery services, ghost restaurants offer food that is markedly different than the host restaurant’s usual menu (e.g., fine dining establishments offering burgers and fries for delivery). Diners cannot order from that menu while at the restaurant. Owner Bethlyn Rider confessed, “Typically, ghost restaurants are a secret, but we live in a small enough town, and people are bound to find out.”

Rider’s ghost restaurant Bombay Bend offers Indian street food. She created recipes with the help of an Indian Chef that she knows. Bombay Bend will be available on Door Dash, Bend Takeout and Grub Hub within the next couple of weeks.

Nearby, Spork may be the busiest restaurant in Bend. As they retire their airstream ordering and outdoor seating, those that come to the restaurant will need to go indoors to order. Owner and General Manager Erica Reilly said they will be extending the awnings next to the building for more outdoor seating. A tent will be erected for those who are waiting for food.

It’s easier to order food online from Spork. Customers can stay warm in their car as they’re sent a text when their order is ready. Reilly talked about how the restaurant will turn off online ordering if the wait for food is more than an hour.

She advises diners to order before 5 p.m. or after 7 p.m. for faster service, and maybe to have a bite if coming in peak hours so they won’t become “hangry.”