Portage Avenue eatery shuts down amid myriad challenges

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This article was published 07/07/2022 (1197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

St. James residents must now venture outside their neighbourhood to find a Vietnamese menu, after Yen Kitchen — the latest restaurant to announce it can no longer afford to operate amid the COVID-19 pandemic — closed its doors over the weekend.

The co-owners of the eatery at 1887 Portage Ave. told the Free Press they are filing for bankruptcy after a series of unfortunate events since opening in 2020.

Entrepreneur Kim Vu said her business survived the initial public health-ordered closures and expenses related to implementing safety protocols.

But then came staffing challenges, ingredient shortages, and surging inflation. Limited walk-in activity, which the owners attribute to stay-at-home messaging, remained an issue despite virtually all restrictions easing in the winter. At the same time, delivery services take significant portions of takeout profits.

Combined, all of the above resulted in Yen Kitchen serving its last banh mi on July 1, Vu said.

“You have to choose between cutting out the ingredient in some dish or you have to increase the price to maintain the quality. Instead of doing that, we’re running away,” she said.

“We’d rather just close, just to keep the good reputation.”

The St. James joint’s managers had secured several grants and loans over the last 28 months. The business is among many which have been struggling to stay afloat in a new pandemic phase with few virus-related supports available.

“We’re going to continue to see restaurants like this unfortunately close because you can only survive so long on surviving,” said Shaun Jeffrey, chief executive officer of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

Restaurants are sitting on mountains of debt and consumer confidence is lower than many anticipated it would be at this point, Jeffrey said. Many businesses have recently adjusted their hours to close for lunch service in order to stay afloat, but that is only a short-term solution, he said.

The association is lobbying for both recovery supports and provincial leaders to encourage Manitobans to support local establishments now that restrictions have eased.

Little Goat Food & Drink — another Portage Avenue eatery — shuttered earlier this year, citing similar reasons.

Vu and her longtime friend, chef Yen Phan (after whom their restaurant was named) purchased the former Le’s Subs shop amid much uncertainty in April 2020.

Phan said they wanted to sell healthy, affordable food and create a vegan menu to fill a gap in the local takeout market, while carrying on the site’s tradition of serving Vietnamese cuisine.

Not long after moving to Canada from Vietnam in 2015, she studied culinary arts at Red River College Polytechnic. Vu, who had met Phan 13 years earlier in their home country, arrived in Winnipeg right before COVID-19 did.

Vu said she was homesick for authentic food and her Vietnamese friends, Phan included, shared in her feeling that none of the restaurants they had been to in the city were quite hitting the spot. Yen Kitchen touted its reliance on traditional practices, including a 24-hour-long cooking time to make beef broth for pho and using spices shipped from Vietnam.

The cost of living and supply chain issues have made their dream of selling authentic dishes impossible, according to the owners. On March 30, the business put a call-out for donations to prolong its lifespan.

“Chef Yen is picky. She wanted real spices. When the shipping supplies were being cut, (our suppliers) were not importing good quality beef spice,” Vu said, adding international supermarkets have also stopped stocking their preferred rice noodles due to a spike in shipping costs.

They did not find a replacement that absorbs flavourful broth without melting, she said, adding ingredient prices have become unmanageable.

A box of vegan mayo, which came at a price tag of $20 this time last year, has increased to $35, she said, noting the jump in canola oil prices, 110 per cent, is even more significant.

While the owners of Yen Kitchen plan to pursue new ventures, the duo said they plan to do occasional pop-ups at festivals and restaurants owned by friends in the future.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie