Struggling Bay Area restaurants find creative ways to survive

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Restaurants have been especially hard-hit by this pandemic. And in a month when they should have been hosting holiday parties, they are now shuttered. That is forcing many to find creative ways to pay the bills and their employees.

"At this point, you need to be testing everything that's on your mind," says Manuel Martinez, chef owner of La Viga and LV Mar in Redwood City and San Agus in Palo Alto.

He says take out and delivery simply won't pay the bills. So he's offering everything from groceries, to meal kits to an online store.

And come January, he's launching a ghost kitchen.

"Opening a ghost kitchen, I mean we have the restaurant already. We're paying rent. We're paying some of the employees so let's just create it," he says.

At the Donato Restaurant Group, they have four properties including Donato Enoteca and Cru Wine Bar in Redwood City.

And they're also thinking outside the box. Or rather, inside it.

They're packing house made cheeses, charcuteries and sweets in their brand new online store. And they too are doing meal kits.

"We say hey anybody who wants to work, we are here. We need help packing, boxing, portioning, everything that we need. So everybody got involved. We were able to help as many employees as we could," says owner Donato Scotti.

But their most successful pivot has been online cooking classes. In December they've done one each week. The special Christmas Eve edition features Italian fish stew, wine pairings and fun.

"We opened it up to a few more spots up to 80, 90 people, I think. And we booked them all out," says Scotti.

And so Scotti says, while his restaurants remain empty, he's finding ways to keep staff and customers happy.

"It's amazing how people come together in the moment of need," he says.

Donato's is actually planning a New Year's Eve cooking class next. And both restaurant owners say they may continue the more successful of these side projects even post-pandemic.