COVID-19 closed their Columbus restaurant. Now they’re back with a twist on comfort food.
7th Street Provisions was having a “bang-up year,” according to owner Lori Saputo. The eatery, a French-inspired southern restaurant, had been operating for over three years as of March.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit.
7th Street Provisions closed on March 17 and never opened back up. After nearly seven months, co-owners Saputo and Chris Williams are back with a new outlook, a new attitude and a new menu.
The District Green, located at 222 7th Street in the same building that 7th Street Provisions once operated, celebrated its soft opening last week and its full grand opening Wednesday. After months of uncertainty, the restaurant is ready to provide plant-based cuisine to the citizens of Columbus.
“COVID-19 put us through our paces,” Saputo said, “as far as who we are and what we want to do, and what we believe and feel strongly about.”
Sticking together through COVID-19
The months of closure due to COVID-19 were “heartbreaking” and “scary,” Saputo said. The restaurant industry was decimated by the virus and subsequent lockdowns.
Saputo and Williams would not be in business without Paycheck Protection Program loans from the CARES Act — they pay a mortgage on the building.
It’s been a stress-filled quarantine, but the pair are thrilled to finally be up and running again.
“The restaurant industry is in crisis,” Saputo said. “’Mom and Pop’ (stores) are in crisis. What we have to do, is just do what we believe in and produce the best product we can. I feel like if you do it, they’ll come.”
Most of the staff returned. The restaurant’s three servers have each worked for Saputo and Williams for at least a year.
Saputo works in the kitchen with Williams and the only other kitchen employee has been with the duo since day one.
“It’s a family,” Saputo said. “And we’re really grateful for all of them.”
Comfort food, vegan style
A quick Google search nets these eateries as the top responses for vegan restaurants in Columbus: Country Life, Mellow Mushroom and Your Pie.
So, in a city not exactly filled with vegan-tailored restaurants, Saputo and Williams aim to change the scene.
“Having all this time off has made us reflect and want to try something new that we think Columbus needs,” Saputo said.
The two originally envisioned a vegetarian restaurant, but felt that sent mixed messages as to what the restaurant stood for and the customer base toward which it’s geared.
“You can have a steak anywhere if you’d like one,” Williams, who doubles as the chef, said. “Vegetarians and vegans, they get left out totally. There’s a whole community that, you’re just an afterthought. So we want to bring that to the forefront.”
The District Green is no health food store. At its core, it specializes in comfort-based food.
You can make quality food without animal products, Saputo says.
The “c-dog,” a carrot dog (a play on a traditional pork or beef hot dog) with black bean chili, roasted jalapeno cream and Vidalia onions, is a crowd favorite. The restaurant offers smoked tofu, pot pie and even plant-based cookies and ice cream cake.
“That’s what you miss a lot in vegetarian foods, in vegan cooking,” Williams said. “You miss those comfort foods.”
Saputo added, “People think they just have to eat salads forever, and, no, you don’t.”
The restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch service, and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for dinner service.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 6:50 AM.
