Chez Foushee plans to reopen soon with a delivery-only model. The restaurant has renovated its interior to better suit its new operations, and will deliver its food through an in-house service. (Jack Jacobs photos)
When Chez Foushee reopens next week after months of being closed, the downtown restaurant will serve up a new concept to weather the coronavirus pandemic: three-course meals designed to be delivered by in-house staff to customers at their homes.
“We’re trying to bring as much of the restaurant dining experience to you without the restaurant,” said owner Whitney Cardozo, who bought the restaurant in 2017.
Chez Foushee has laid low for most of the year after it closed due to the pandemic in March. It’s been out of action ever since, save for about a month of takeout service in May. Those operations were cut short by fallout from local anti-police brutality protests.
Cardozo said the atmosphere in downtown after dark changed and she feared for her staff’s safety.
“It wasn’t about the protests. We fully support that,” she said.
But Cardozo and Chez Foushee haven’t sat idle.
She used the downtime to renovate the restaurant’s dining and deli space into an expanded kitchen and order preparation area to make the pivot into delivery possible. Cardozo declined to share the investment she’s put into the changes.
“It’s a lot,” she said. “Let’s put it this way — the renovation of a large kitchen that needed new floors, new fixtures. We’re buying (to-go) packaging for thousands of dollars.”
Chez Foushee has spent most of the year closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chez Foushee’s menu will be largely the same as it was pre-pandemic, though it’s been tweaked to be more travel-friendly. The mainstay item will be a boxed, three-course meal for two, which will range from about $70 to $80 based on what customers select.
The restaurant’s delivery menu will also include a $38 cocktail box of meats and cheeses to be paired with an add-on wine or cocktail, as well as a la carte items like soups and desserts.
The meals will arrive chilled, and customers will be directed to heat the food themselves.
The restaurant will reopen with a team of six. It plans to keep delivery expenses down with its own in-house service, rather than use a third-party service and be subject to outside fees. Those have become more of a sticking point among restaurateurs during the pandemic.
“The third-party people like DoorDash and UberEats take quite a chunk for themselves,” Cardozo said.
Chez Foushee might also seek to partner with businesses, like a flower vendor, to better achieve the effect of a fine dining experience at home, she said.
Though Chez Foushee will be in delivery mode for the near future, Cardozo said she hopes to reintroduce indoor dining sometime next year.
As of Tuesday, restaurants are allowed to offer indoor dining as long as dining parties are six feet apart and patrons are capped at 25 people. Cardozo said she felt it wouldn’t be safe for Chez Foushee to offer indoor dining at this time.
Chez Foushee plans to reopen soon with a delivery-only model. The restaurant has renovated its interior to better suit its new operations, and will deliver its food through an in-house service. (Jack Jacobs photos)
When Chez Foushee reopens next week after months of being closed, the downtown restaurant will serve up a new concept to weather the coronavirus pandemic: three-course meals designed to be delivered by in-house staff to customers at their homes.
“We’re trying to bring as much of the restaurant dining experience to you without the restaurant,” said owner Whitney Cardozo, who bought the restaurant in 2017.
Chez Foushee has laid low for most of the year after it closed due to the pandemic in March. It’s been out of action ever since, save for about a month of takeout service in May. Those operations were cut short by fallout from local anti-police brutality protests.
Cardozo said the atmosphere in downtown after dark changed and she feared for her staff’s safety.
“It wasn’t about the protests. We fully support that,” she said.
But Cardozo and Chez Foushee haven’t sat idle.
She used the downtime to renovate the restaurant’s dining and deli space into an expanded kitchen and order preparation area to make the pivot into delivery possible. Cardozo declined to share the investment she’s put into the changes.
“It’s a lot,” she said. “Let’s put it this way — the renovation of a large kitchen that needed new floors, new fixtures. We’re buying (to-go) packaging for thousands of dollars.”
Chez Foushee has spent most of the year closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chez Foushee’s menu will be largely the same as it was pre-pandemic, though it’s been tweaked to be more travel-friendly. The mainstay item will be a boxed, three-course meal for two, which will range from about $70 to $80 based on what customers select.
The restaurant’s delivery menu will also include a $38 cocktail box of meats and cheeses to be paired with an add-on wine or cocktail, as well as a la carte items like soups and desserts.
The meals will arrive chilled, and customers will be directed to heat the food themselves.
The restaurant will reopen with a team of six. It plans to keep delivery expenses down with its own in-house service, rather than use a third-party service and be subject to outside fees. Those have become more of a sticking point among restaurateurs during the pandemic.
“The third-party people like DoorDash and UberEats take quite a chunk for themselves,” Cardozo said.
Chez Foushee might also seek to partner with businesses, like a flower vendor, to better achieve the effect of a fine dining experience at home, she said.
Though Chez Foushee will be in delivery mode for the near future, Cardozo said she hopes to reintroduce indoor dining sometime next year.
As of Tuesday, restaurants are allowed to offer indoor dining as long as dining parties are six feet apart and patrons are capped at 25 people. Cardozo said she felt it wouldn’t be safe for Chez Foushee to offer indoor dining at this time.
I think this is a wonderful idea. I can’t wait to place my order with family coming to visit and for ourselves. If we can’t have our date night there, they can bring the date-night food to us! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear they are still around! I love the idea, but I think the price-point puts me out of their target audience. But then I was always a lunch customer.
I look forward to seeing their menu- though the price might seem high at first glance, that’s what ordering in always seems to run to these days