This story appears in the July-August combo issue of Seattle magazine and Seattle Business magazine. Subscription information is here.

If anyone knows about reinvention, it’s Addo chef/owner Eric Rivera. Since opening the popular Seattle restaurant three years ago, he’s hosted constantly evolving dinners, events, multicourse meals, trivia games and every kind of food party he can come up with. Most nights, reservation-only Addo had two to five menus and concepts going on at the same time. His food can range from a $4 burrito to a $400 tasting menu.

“I don’t see the value of just being one thing,” Rivera says. “I’m designing different menus all the time. Sometimes days ahead and sometimes just hours ahead. It’s improvisational jazz.”

That desire to hit more than one note should serve him well as restaurant owners look to the fall and winter with uncertainty, apprehension and resolve. For Seattle restaurateurs, surviving 2020 means creativity and constant reinvention. The coming months could bring a resurgence of masked restaurant patrons or a bleak second wave and subsequent shutdowns. Most restaurant owners say they must remain positive despite the unknowns because their livelihoods are at stake.

“I am optimistic because I have to be,” says Bob Donegan, president of Ivar’s. “I have 1,000 people depending upon me doing my job. We have to figure out a way.”

Here are the stories of six Seattle restaurateurs who continue to claw forward and reinvent their product in a time unlike anything we’ve experienced before.

Salare, Junebaby, Lucinda Grain Bar

The kitchen lights are on at Edouardo Jordan’s Ravenna restaurants, but tables remain empty. Jordan has no idea when diners will return.

Until restaurants can operate at full capacity, it doesn’t make financial sense for his small neighborhood spots to open back up for in-person dining. And for Jordan, the health risks are even more troubling than the financial implications. He doesn’t want to chance spreading Covid-19 between his staff or customers. He worries about whether the local restaurant industry can survive the next year.

“It doesn’t look very good for a lot of us,” Jordan says.

Jordan had already been planning on closing Salare and Junebaby for a week for his annual spring refresh, when staff takes vacation and he deep cleans the restaurants. He thought he’d use the week to figure out when they’d be able to reopen. It quickly became apparent that the closures would be long term.

 Like many restaurants across town, Jordan pivoted to takeout. At Salare, he launched the community charity kitchen. He partnered with Chef Edward Lee in Kentucky, who launched the Restaurant Workers Relief Program with restaurateurs across the country to cook meals for laid-off restaurant staff. Using website donations, Jordan and about 10 of his employees created simple daily meals for pick up. Eventually, Jordan ended his participation in the program and switched to cooking meals for various local charities, such as Solid Ground, Byrd Barr Place, Northwest Harvest, FareStart and World Kitchen. Whether Jordan can keep the program going depends on funding.

“Our donations are dwindling,” Jordan says. “We need to be smart about keeping the lights on. We are a for-profit business, so we have to figure out how to make it happen now. We can’t do freebies.”

While the charity meals keep some of Jordan’s staff employed, he’s bringing in more revenue from gourmet takeout. Every week at Junebaby, he creates a three- to four-course takeout menu. The food has strong Southern influences but is inspired by the cuisine at all three of his restaurants. His generously portioned meals sell for $60 to $70 and can usually feed more than one person or last a couple of days.

“Junebaby is the house that is trying to take care of the bills,” Jordan says.

So far, the takeout program has kept Jordan afloat, if not thriving. He has good days and slow days, just like any typical restaurant. But Jordan doesn’t pretend that preparing carryout food makes him or his staff particularly happy. Jordan, a James Beard award-winning chef, opened restaurants to create unique, inventive meals for customers dining face to face. Greeting patrons, plating meals and crafting individual courses are what he and his staff love to do.

“Takeout is keeping us going. Is it what we want to do? No,” Jordan says.

The coming fall and winter seasons loom as a huge unknown for Jordan. He can’t see asking patrons to come into a small restaurant where they are breathing shared heater air. When asked if he’s optimistic, he laughs and says he’s realistic.

“I have no clue what will happen this fall and winter,” Jordan says. “It hurts my brain so much because it changes daily. I don’t know if a lot of restaurants will be able to survive Covid-19 unless there are major changes in how we eat out.”