If you ran a restaurant in 2020, it was one hell of a year.
The industry continues to be one of the hardest hit during the pandemic.
Many owners have pivoted their business models, adapting to life during the coronavirus - downtown Vancouver's Café Medina is a prime example.
Owner Robbie Kane reflects on the last 12 months: "Our success is primarily based on volume; we're downtown, it's very expensive to run a restaurant, so it was a stressful year. We went down for two weeks entirely just to regroup and figure out what we were going to do."
The popular eatery on Richards Street started selling heat-and-serve meal kits, began an online grocery store, and stayed open several nights a week - a major shift for an establishment generally known mainly for brunch service.
In addition, summer construction right outside its entrance and a lack of seasonal tourism only made matters more difficult.
Kane is staying optimistic about Medina, as the new year unfolds, but still sees a lot of challenges ahead.
