Big Burrito Restaurant Group reopens some locations

Chef Bill Fuller, president of Big Burrito Restaurant Group, has reopened restaurants Kaya, Soba and Umi.

The nine Mad Mex locations in the region have stayed open during the pandemic, Fuller said Thursday, because of the Mar-GO-ritas, takeout and outdoor dining.

The restaurants Alta Via and Casbah might open soon for takeout only, he said. He said he’s not sure how to proceed with the group’s premier restaurant, Eleven.

“We tried to look at how we did it the first time (they reopened),” Fuller said. “We opened seven days a week, day and night and brought back nearly full staffs of people. We bought a lot of food.”

As coronavirus cases began to rise in Allegheny County and across the state, Gov. Tom Wolf issued orders on July 15, limiting restaurants to 25% of indoor capacity, among other restrictions. Three days later, Big Burrito announced that it was closing all of its restaurants except Mad Mex.

As the speciality restaurants have started to reopen, each has its own schedule of days, hours and staff. What’s clear is that people like to be outdoors, Fuller said. They can do that at Kaya in the Strip District, which is open Monday through Sunday for dinner and Friday, Saturday and Sunday for lunch. Guests can place an order inside, then sit outside until they pick up their orders through a sliding window that was used when the place was a hot dog shop.

Soba and Umi in Shadyside are open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. Umi has a limited menu and limited seating, Fuller said.

“The thing is there are no precedents,” Fuller said. “And we can’t look back to when this happened before and see how we handled it. We are a long-term planning company and we can’t plan past next week. You have to watch things every day and just see what’s going to happen.”

Fuller sent a message to customers sharing with them the difficulties of the past six months.

“The prospects for our business were grim, and I was scared,” Fuller wrote. “This journey has been brutal, and there is still a long way to go.

“We are working on a plan to make it to next summer and the return of patio season. And as conditions change, we will adapt our plans. The longer this persists, the deeper we’ll dig to find solutions,” he added. “My most precious takeaway of this pandemic has been working alongside our outstanding team. The other silver lining has been the love from our guests. The outpouring of well-wishes and extensive takeout purchasing have really shown how much the community cares.”