Safe Outdoor Dining at Chaval in Portland, Maine
By Erica Archer
I had my first COVID-19 dining out experience in Portland, Maine, last week on Chaval’s beautiful outdoor patio. That seems simple enough, right? Restaurants are re-opening all over the city, all over the world after having been shut down for months. In reality though, those months were spent contemplating, learning, and planning. The path to re-opening is the result of a lot of people’s hard work and love of our community … and is a cause for celebration.
I am so proud of the Portland, Maine community. So many people here have worked together to help, support, inform, and be there for one another during this very difficult time. Since mid-March, when the coronavirus arrived in Maine and forced businesses around the world to shut their doors and all citizens to stay home, I have had the privilege to have been a part of a weekly Zoom meeting series of Greater Portland restaurant owners and their small business partners.
The weekly Saturday morning meetings were spearheaded by Chef/Co-Owner, Ilma Lopez of Chaval, and aimed to band small-independent restaurants and business partners together and keep us in touch with one another and city and State officials so that we could have a voice, share learnings, information, and hear and learn from each other in this rapidly evolving situation. Everyone brought their strengths to the group—to help, to inform, listen and support one another, to contribute to solving our shared and unique challenges, and to plan for what would ultimately be a safe reopening, if, and when, possible. Given the CDC and State of Maine coronavirus guidelines for physical-distancing and gathering sizes the dimensions of each establishment played a big role in even the possibility of re-opening. So did whether or not there were team members with pre-existing conditions or at-risk household members, how far behind you were on your lease payments, and whether or not you received the PPP loan.
Was putting in all of this work to reopen even worth it? Could it be done safely? Would staff feel safe coming back to work? What protocols should be put into place? Would customers follow them for the benefit of all? What would happen if something went awry? What could cause a problem and how do we prevent that? The grueling level of details addressed by these businesses to safely re-open was incredible and done knowingly that there would be no guarantee to reopen. But if it were a possibility, opening safely was the only option.
So, when I heard that Chaval was re-opening, I knew the hard work that went into it and I felt without a doubt, that it would be a safe and delicious dining experience. I was right. It was outstanding in every way ... from the safety protocols with hand sanitizer at check-in + on every widely spaced table, to the turbo fan keeping the space extremely well ventilated, to the face-masked servers and single-use menus, through every single perfect bite of an excellent three course dinner. It was great to be outside in a well-planned, beautiful, and safe environment eating such incredible food. I felt like I was in vacation mode. It was 90-minutes of perfection. I can’t wait to go back.
They open at 4:00 PM. Get yourself a reservation and keep this, and other, beloved Portland, Maine independent restaurants healthy, thriving, and an important part of what makes our Portland community and the food scene here so excellent. Visit portlandfoodmap.com for an ever evolving and up-to-the-minute and complete list of Portland, Maine restaurants that are open for outdoor dining, indoor dining, and takeout.
Photos: 1) Wine on the patio while browsing the menus, 2) Seared Maine Bluefin Tuna with cauliflower coulis and braised spigarello, 3) Local Cod with vadouvan, fennel, tomato, virgin olive oil, basil, olives, 4) Milk Chocolate Semifreddo with coco nibs, bittersweet ganache, vanilla cloud.
