Photo courtesy mekong-cafe.com
Mekong Cafe
A few days before everything shut down in March 2020, Mekong Cafe (5930 W. North Ave.) was a busy restaurant well-known for their delicious Thai, Laos, and Vietnamese dishes. Their lunch buffet was always a popular option at mid-day. When the dining restrictions started rolling out from the health department, the lunch buffet was changed from self-serve to cafeteria style service. Shortly after that, the restaurant closed to all dine-in service.
So, how do you keep your business going when you can no longer welcome patrons into your establishment? “We’ve always had a strong carry-out and delivery business,” says Sichanh Volp, of Mekong Cafe. Carry-out was enhanced by adding a curbside pick-up option but it still didn’t make up for the loss of the dining room.
Throughout the remainder of 2020 and early 2021, the Mekong dining room stayed closed. Staffing needs and changing capacity restrictions just made it too difficult to open it up. Then, when it was time to renew their liquor license this past January, they made the bold decision to evolve their dining room space into the Mekong Market grocery store. “The store is focused on southeast Asian food from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, just like the restaurant always has been,” says Volp. The carryout and delivery business is still strong, but the store offers a whole new opportunity for the Mekong Cafe and the neighborhood at large. In addition to the shelf goods, they also carry staples like milk, bread, eggs, and butter, as well as fresh produce, bakery, and prepared grab-and-go foods.
Fresh Bakery
The fresh bakery items like banana bread or the matcha green tea bars are very popular. Volp cites Mekong’s homemade dipping sauces and rice crackers as being much sought after too. But the real winners are the delicious steam buns handmade by Volp’s mom, available stuffed with pork or bbq chicken. “These just aren’t available anywhere else in the area,” says Volp.
There aren’t many grocery options right around Mekong, so the store is growing in popularity in the neighborhood. Because the grocery items are available to order online from Mekong’s site, some people are even starting to add grocery items to their online food orders. “We’ve had positive feedback that people really like being able to add on snacks or add on a dozen eggs, or a bottle of sriracha when they place their carryout or delivery orders,” Volp says.
This past year and half presented challenges for so many in the restaurant industry, but Mekong has persevered under Volp’s guidance and willingness to try innovative approaches. Staying active on social media to boost the profile of the restaurant and to engage with customers, and as Volp puts it, “We’ve learned to adapt to constant change. It’s been a constant battle. When you wake up every morning, there’s just something else happening. It’s all about learning how to adapt.”
