Less than a year in operation, a Âé¶čAV take-out style eatery closed its counter for the final time.
Kalamansi chef and co-owner Alex Lavroff said in the beginning, things worked out quite well. The eatery had a good team, the system worked well, and people came to check them out.
They were busy for a bit, but it all started to slow down.
âWe were extremely busy, and then the mandated restrictions (in July) happened and we lost a lot of traffic,â
âAnd we just never really came back from that. People didnât really know we were here and not enough people came in.â
He said the people who did come in were repeat customers who gave him and his team positive reviews and feedback on their food and service, but it wasnât quite enough to help them keep afloat.
The vision for Kalamansi was to evolve with the change in dine-in service and was designed to be ahead of the curve in that regard by offering healthy fast food options, but Lavroff said maybe now just wasnât the time for the idea, the vision, and the food he was producing.
He added that he struggled with the more technical aspects of running Kalamansi, like maintaining a social media presence, as well as setting up DoorDash and other delivery services, which he said may have helped them had he been able to stay on top of those aspects.
âAt the end of the day, I have to take ownership⊠if the business was failing, itâs my fault. I donât want to blame COVID or government mandates or anything else,â he said.
âIâm sure if I did something different, it wouldâve taken off. I took a bit of a risk, and maybe itâs just not the food that the clientele in Âé¶čAV wants to eat right now.â
He said he knows customers who did come again and again to Kalamansi had a good time, and so did he, saying his favourite memory was their opening day.
âEverything worked exactly how I planned it to. We had the exact amount of guests I had planned for, the system worked with the right amount of staff, the food came out instantly and perfectly, and I was so happy because I had created a new system and a really high standard of food that was fast,â he said.
âWhen it took off so well, that was one the best moments of my life.
âHopefully, the next people who come in will do something much better with (the space).â
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twila.amato@blackpress.ca
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