Less than a year in operation, a Kelowna take-out style eatery closed its counter for the final time.

Kalamansi chef and co-owner Alex Lavroff said in the beginning, things worked out quite well. The eatery had a good team, the system worked well, and people came to check them out.

They were busy for a bit, but it all started to slow down.

含羞草研究社淲e were extremely busy, and then the mandated restrictions (in July) happened and we lost a lot of traffic,含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淎nd we just never really came back from that. People didn含羞草研究社檛 really know we were here and not enough people came in.含羞草研究社�

He said the people who did come in were repeat customers who gave him and his team positive reviews and feedback on their food and service, but it wasn含羞草研究社檛 quite enough to help them keep afloat.

The vision for Kalamansi was to evolve with the change in dine-in service and was designed to be ahead of the curve in that regard by offering healthy fast food options, but Lavroff said maybe now just wasn含羞草研究社檛 the time for the idea, the vision, and the food he was producing.

He added that he struggled with the more technical aspects of running Kalamansi, like maintaining a social media presence, as well as setting up DoorDash and other delivery services, which he said may have helped them had he been able to stay on top of those aspects.

含羞草研究社淎t the end of the day, I have to take ownership含羞草研究社� if the business was failing, it含羞草研究社檚 my fault. I don含羞草研究社檛 want to blame COVID or government mandates or anything else,含羞草研究社� he said.

含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 sure if I did something different, it would含羞草研究社檝e taken off. I took a bit of a risk, and maybe it含羞草研究社檚 just not the food that the clientele in Kelowna wants to eat right now.含羞草研究社�

He said he knows customers who did come again and again to Kalamansi had a good time, and so did he, saying his favourite memory was their opening day.

含羞草研究社淓verything worked exactly how I planned it to. We had the exact amount of guests I had planned for, the system worked with the right amount of staff, the food came out instantly and perfectly, and I was so happy because I had created a new system and a really high standard of food that was fast,含羞草研究社� he said.

含羞草研究社淲hen it took off so well, that was one the best moments of my life.

含羞草研究社淗opefully, the next people who come in will do something much better with (the space).含羞草研究社�

READ MORE: Facebook whistleblower rekindles questions about cracking down on Facebook in Canada

twila.amato@blackpress.ca
Like us on and follow us on .