The restaurant industry has been one of the industries most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many restaurants have closed or partially closed their indoor seating spaces and have reverted to takeout and delivery, while some have been forced to close for good. The pandemic has made the restaurant business a very risky ballgame, but three restaurants in Larchmont-Mamaroneck have taken the risk and recently opened up.

The reason for each restaurant opening up in this town specifically is similar: they all love the community and they wanted to fill a void that was left behind. Lisa Chase, part-owner of The Grange (158 Larchmont Avenue, Larchmont) stated their reason for opening as filling a void in Larchmont. “We are members of the community and we wanted a sandwich and salad place that didn’t exist.” They also chose the location specifically because of its prime location within Larchmont. “We wanted to be on a corner, near a school (Chatsworth Avenue), as well near other restaurants.” The reasoning is similar for Bagels by Sofia (145 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont), as they describe. “We opened on October 24. We opened here because we love this community and we wanted to fill a necessity in Larchmont because there wasn’t a bagel store here before.”

The situation was paralleled for Christopher’s by Chef Joe (2382 Boston Post Road, Larchmont), as Mentor, the manager of the restaurant, explains, “[they] opened a location here because we love this community and this location has been in the works for 40 years. There was a restaurant [in our location] called La Reserva and the previous owners left, and we decided to open here.” The restaurant is one of many that Executive Chef Joe Giordano has cooked at, which also include Trattoria in Pleasantville and Per Voi in Port Chester.

One of the main concerns during a global pandemic is keeping everyone safe and healthy when interacting with food and others. Each restaurant is taking different safety precautions to keep their customers safe. The Grange have focused on disinfecting the restaurant, as well as keeping the doors open for good air circulation. Because it is a new restaurant, they also installed a new air purification system. Christopher’s has been working on building an outdoor style space that can be compatible with wintertime because as it gets colder, they know outdoor dining will be getting harder.

The most important thing that all the restaurants have appreciated during this time has been the support and appreciation of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck community. As Chase describes, “People were appreciative that we opened during a pandemic. When we opened, it felt that something was opening, rather than closing.” A representative from Bagel’s by Sofia agreed with Chase’s sentiment, saying how  “people [have enjoyed] that we are open during the pandemic and that we have the courage to open during this time.” Opening a restaurant is always a risky gamble, especially during a global pandemic where indoor seating is limited and close contact is curbed. However, these challenges have clearly not stopped these three establishments from opening and the community has been extremely supportive of their efforts.