This Annandale restaurant plans to stick with carryout until the virus threat goes away
 |
| Duck Chang’s |
While many Annandale restaurants are opening for indoor dining, at least one is sticking with carryout dining only, possibly for months.
“I’m taking a wait-and-see approach,” says Peter Chang, owner of Duck Chang’s at 4427 John Marr Drive. “I don’t foresee us opening any time soon.”
Chang says it’s not cost-effective to open now, and he is concerned for the health of his staff.
As a result, he plans to stay open for to-go orders and delivery business only – possibly until he’s sure there won’t be a second wave of coronavirus and antibody testing and vaccines are widely available.
The restaurant is open for carryout noon-7 p.m. six days a week; it’s closed on Mondays. About 85 to 90 percent of the menu is available, including specialties Peking duck and Szechuan duck.
Duck Chang’s, an Annandale institution for decades, is a small, intimate place with just 21 tables. To comply with the requirement that restaurants limit capacity to 50 percent means he could only have seven or eight tables at a time.
 |
| Peking duck |
Even with limited capacity, it’s still a closed environment with standard ventilation, which he says “is literally like an airplane cabin.” Also, the requirement for deep cleaning between seatings means “staff will be cleaning incessantly.”
Chang suspects that 80 percent of the population are probably safe and 15 percent are sick. It’s the remaining 5 percent that are infected but not symptomatic that he worries about. “For that $20, or $50, or $100 check, I am I willing to put my life on the line?”
Chang says business started dropping in February when the news was full of reports about a virus from China. People were worried that staff members were going home to China for Chinese New Year and bringing the virus back to the U.S.
About five to 10 part-time employees were laid off, and some have since been brought back.
Related story: Duck Chang’s celebrates 40 years in Annandale
The restaurant shut down for two weeks in early May after a couple of staff members who had been furloughed said their relative had COVID-19 and a customer also said a family member was infected.
No one at the restaurant had symptoms and, as a result, couldn’t get tested until Chang insisted they be tested as they are front-line workers. Everyone on staff tested negative, but by then 10 days had passed.
That’s why Chang says he feels uneasy letting customers inside. Even if staff checks people’s temperatures, they could still have COVID but not show any symptoms yet.
When coronavirus hit, business declined from about 200 meals a day to 20 or 30 carryout meals daily, he says. “We saw a nice uptick when someone posted a message on Nextdoor urging people to support us, and since then we found a rhythm at about 50 a day.”
Now, he worries that people going on vacation to places like Florida that are seeing a resurgence of COVID cases and will bring the virus back here.
“Financially, we’re okay,” Chang says. “We’ve been around for 45 years,” so he’s confident the restaurant will be viable even if it stays open for carryout only for many more months.
Nevertheless, the pandemic is taking a bite out of profits. The price of meat has gone up during the pandemic, so he has had to charge $1 to $3 more for entrees. Carryout entrees tend to be bigger than the same meals ordered at the table, and customers are not ordering beer, wine, or liquor to go, which have higher profit margins than food.
Related story: Small businesses can apply for Fairfax RISE grants
Chang suspended his catering business and “doesn’t see that coming back any time soon.” He notes that Chinese food tends to be labor intensive, he and uses just 65 to 75 percent of the beef it buys. Unlike other restaurants, Duck Chang’s has not switched to cheaper cuts of meat.
Meanwhile, the landlord is not reducing the rent, and vendors are not cutting prices.
Chang got some federal funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, which all went to the payroll. He applied for a Fairfax RISE grant, but hasn’t heard whether it will be approved.
“We’ll stay afloat; yeah, it will hurt us,” he says. “Things will be okay. We’re learning to live in a new normal.”
2 responses to “This Annandale restaurant plans to stick with carryout until the virus threat goes away”
Leave a reply
Thank you, Peter, for providing carryout. We had the nicest dinner last weekend on our back porch. Your eggrolls are the best in the area. Meg and Steve
My family have been going to Duck Chang’s for years. Always great food, friendly staff and we enjoy our tableside chats with “Mama” Chang. I do need to go there soon to offer some support – and get some yummy duck!