From the Editors
Posted by estiator at 8 July, at 07 : 48 AM Print
Μidway through what will probably be known as The Year That Wasn’t, Estiator is back in print, helping our dedicated readership to navigate uncharted waters toward an unknown destination. Or maybe the Odyssey is a better analogy: In search of Ithaka, we can’t be sure we’ll recognize her once we finally arrive. Still, blessed with Greek souls, we move forward with optimism, challenging the old models to find ways to adapt. Searching through our DNA, we know that we’ve endured far worse and found ways to survive and eventually thrive. COVID-19? Yeah, we’ve got this.
Within the pages of this issue, we have insights and angles, suggestions and strategies, starting with a how-to on adapting our service models (Service 101, p 12) to mitigate the spread of the virus as we further open our businesses and provide a greater level of comfort to guests who are skittish about venturing back out into the world.
In Pizza (p 18), our resident restaurant consultant and operator, Constantine Kolitsas, outlines the steps he took to grow his six-month-old business when the pandemic hit, offering lots of takeaways for readers running similar operations.
When the world changes, it’s always helpful to hear how others in our shoes are reacting, and their thoughts on how those changes will shape the future. With this in mind, first-time contributor Michael Kaminer reached out to six distinguished restaurateurs throughout the country, representing a spectrum of genres within the industry for this month’s cover story (Where We Are and Where We’re Going, p 24). Their insights are informed and intelligent, providing perspective for a future that is uncertain. In this month’s Restaurant Spotlight (p 16), he speaks with Nerai’s Spiro Menegatos, learning the changes the midtown Manhattan spot is making to ensure it comes out of the crisis intact.
Finally, Kaminer has a conversation with perhaps the most well-known face of Greek cuisine, Diane Kochilas (host of PBS’s My Greek Table, cookbook author, and consultant to several high-profile Greek restaurants). In this case, our Oracle’s Pythia is inhaling the aromas from the Greek kitchen to divine its future as America (and the world) begins to emerge from its quarantine cocoon.
Until our next issue, stay well, stay focused, and stay strong.
The Editorial & Publishing Staff
