How one new downtown Modesto restaurant decided to defy odds, open amid the pandemic
When one restaurant has already closed in the same space in part because of the ongoing pandemic, the decision to open another comes with many critical choices.
What will you put on the menu? How many will you hire for staff? Will you comply with or defy continuing health orders?
For Midtown Bistro, a new restaurant in the former Bayou Bar & Grill space on 13th Street, the decisions were tough but the choices decisive. Make a menu filled with classic American bistro fare, with some twists. Hire on about 15 staff, led by a tight-knit management trio. And continue to serve inside and out, despite the ongoing pandemic and stay-at-home order prohibiting all in-person dining in our region.
The order has been in effect since mid-December and was recently extended indefinitely.
Midtown Bistro, from Modesto co-owners Mark Nelson (a longtime local attorney and former owner of Bayou) and David Patterson. (executive chef and general manager), is hardly alone in its noncompliance. Restaurants across Modesto have been openly defying public health guidelines by continuing in-person service.
Take a stroll through downtown Modesto at lunch or dinnertime and you’ll see as many places breaking the rules as following them. And while city government has issued some fines for violators, officials and local law enforcement have repeatedly said they are taking an educational approach to enforcement instead of issuing citations or making arrests.
Midtown Bistro opened officially in November, when the county was still allowing in-person indoor dining. They had about two weeks of service before Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new stay-at-home order due to the state’s skyrocketing infections and overcrowded ICUs.
Why the new bistro continued to serve inside
Patterson said as a new restaurant they wouldn’t be able to survive on takeout and delivery orders alone, so they continued serving — as many other downtown restaurants are also serving. Staff is following other guidelines including having all employees wear masks and heightened cleaning protocols.
“We just made the decision, ‘Hey, this is what for us we had to do.’ Going downtown, we saw everyone is getting on board and saying we have to have a livelihood,” Patterson said. “We have to do what we have to do to survive.”
Last week, Patterson said the restaurant received a notice from the City of Modesto informing it of the health guidelines. While he said he is not worried about getting fined or cited by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Patterson said they plan to phase out in-person dining in favor of outdoor dining on the restaurant’s front patio and side breezeway.
Outdoor on-site dining is also prohibited while the region is under the stay-at-home order.
“All of us are just trying to survive. I know we’re the new kids on the block. Everyone has been helping us out. We’re just going with it and I think we’ll be fine,” Patterson said. “Our biggest concern is our employees, a lot who don’t have unemployment anymore. We have to get these people some money or they won’t survive.”
Revolving door of restaurants in new business’s space
The 13th Street building Patterson and his team now call home has seen a slow revolving door of restaurants in the last two decades. First there was Oceana, a seafood spot, that opened in late 2000. That was followed by Nosh and then Vito’s Ristorante and most recently in 2017 Bayou, a Cajun restaurant.
The new restaurant is from the same co-owner as Bayou, Nelson, but with a new chef, menu and name.
When Bayou closed last year, Nelson considered folding all together. But instead, building owner Bob Eckert was having dinner at Tahoe Joe’s last year and started talking with its general manager, Patterson.
The 42-year-old Modesto chef has a long history in Modesto restaurants working his way up from cook to kitchen manager to assistant general manager and general manager at places like the old Sharkey’s Crab Shack, Texas Roadhouse, Buffalo Wild Wings and Tahoe Joe’s.
Eckert introduced Patterson to Nelson, and the rest is food history, so to speak.
“(My wife and I were) lucky enough to find an amazing chef in David Patterson who has created a very diverse menu with amazing flavors,” Nelson said.
Patterson had been waiting for such an opportunity, keeping files on popular dishes and menu items in hopes of opening his own place one day. In addition to being a partner in the new restaurant, he also serves as its executive chef, general manager, occasional dishwasher and whatever else is needed.
Menu includes traditional American favorites, some twists
Patterson brought on his younger brother, Ingrid, who went to culinary school with him and serves as sous chef, and his girlfriend, Nicole Page, who serves as bar and service manager. The brothers grew up in Louisiana, but moved to Modesto as teens.
What’s on the menu is what Patterson calls traditional American bistro fare, with a few modern additions. You can get a Chicken Parmesan entree the size of a dinner plate, pizza with dough made in-house, and from-scratch clam chowder. But you can also find poke nachos and a strawberry vinaigrette salad.
Entrees range in price from $8.99 to $18,99, with most plates around $12. Patterson’s goal was to give people good, fresh-made food at a reasonable price. His highest price item, a NY strip steak, comes in under $20.
“We just wanted to come into the area and give affordable food to our guests and to the community,” Patterson said. “During the pandemic there are a lot of people who can’t afford to go out and eat, specifically downtown. Most of the downtown restaurants are a little pricey.”
While you might wonder why open a new restaurant right after closing an existing one, Patterson said his lean team and their willingness to be jack-of-all-duties has helped to keep costs down.
Staying open for inside dining has no doubt helped the fledgling restaurant as well. The eatery already has some loyal fans, like Modesto couple Beth and Mark Buck, who come three to four times a week to eat inside. They swear Patterson’s clam chowder is better than what you can get at tourist hotspots like Monterey. And they’re glad the management is defying health orders.
“Good, more restaurants should,” Beth Marks said of downtown restaurants serving inside.
As for possible blow-back from the decision to continue in-person service, Patterson said business owners should make up their minds for themselves on what they need to do to stay afloat.
“If we go to takeout we can’t survive as a business and we lose the jobs for 18 employees,” Patterson said. “And that will hurt everyone in the downtown area. So many of the restaurants would close.... and the whole district could be gone.”
Midtown Bistro, at 918 13th St. in downtown Modesto, is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information call 209-488-4243 or visit www.facebook.com/midtownbistro13.
