Italian café pivots to indoor dining as Ontario restaurants prepare to reopen

The revolving opening and closing of indoor dining in Ontario has placed stress and strain on the restaurant industry. But, the owners of an Italian catering company in Toronto's west end are calling the current moment a “blessing in disguise” as they close their café and dive into indoor dining in time for Ontario’s latest round of reopening.

“We like to think that COVID made a lot of opportunities come from giving us a chance to look at each other and see what we can offer in a new framework,” said Sandra Morelli, co-owner of Morellina’s, alongside Lina Hatem.

Homemade pasta is served at Morellina's in Toronto, located at Christie and Pendrith Streets (Neighbourhood Creative). Since their business launched in 2018, it’s continuously evolved. “You have to roll with the punches,” Morelli said. Originally, Morellina’s was founded as an Italian catering company with a café to showcase their work on Christie Street, just a block north of Christie Pits Park.

However, in response to the seesaw of provincial pandemic restrictions, they packed up their pastry display fridge, downsized their espresso machine and ordered velvet benches to prepare the space for indoor dining.

“The catering is still going, but now we have a little gem of a home that we can host,” Morelli said. In their corner spot, windows flank the north and east beneath a fairy-tale-like turret that tops the two storey building.

With the café cleared, their space can accommodate 10 customers when capacity limits loosen to 50 per cent next week. In Morelli and Hatem’s eyes, the intimate space is advantageous – particularly now.

“If a family feels that they don’t want anyone else in because they are COVID sensitive, then we won’t let anyone else in,” Morelli said. “If there’s a group of two, and that party says they don’t mind, then we do social distancing.”

Homemade pasta is served at Morellina's in Toronto, located at Christie and Pendrith Streets (Neighbourhood Creative). Their business model is shaped around custom curating – whether that’s the menu, or arrangements at the venue. “We play it by ear and we play it per customer,” she said.

As the days leading up to the reopening of indoor dining dwindle, anticipation only builds for the owners.

“We are really excited to watch and hear people eat,” Morelli said. “It’s one of those little sounds that we miss.”

That optimism is the momentum that keeps pushing their business forward. “We know that if we just hold on this will get better.”