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Halibut House has successful launch, thriving in uncertain times

August 21, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

When owner, Sophia Sent, first started planning to open Halibut House Fish and Chips in Orangeville, it was several months before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry.

Undaunted, Sophia went ahead with her plans to bring the popular fish and chip restaurant to town.

Halibut House is a growing franchise, with almost 30 locations across Ontario.

Opening in early June, the restaurant quickly became a popular place, although at first they could offer only take-out from their menu.

“We were worried about it at the beginning,” Sophie admitted about opening a restaurant during challenging times. “We really liked this location and we really liked Orangeville. The franchise offered us a couple of possible locations. I came to Orangeville and really liked it. It was hard at first because we had only take-out – there was no dining in the restaurant.”

They finally got the go-ahead to open the inside dining area in July.

When first opened, the restaurant featured specials to let people know they were now open for business.

Word got around and the restaurant did  brisk business.

Opening the dining room to visitors was a slower process.

“The first week, people were still afraid of COVID-19 and a little afraid to come in,” Sophie explained, adding that in-house business adjusted as the restaurant practiced safety protocols and gained customer’s trust. “We keep a distance from table to table to make sure we have social distancing. Everything has to be nice and clean and sanitized. We also sanitize everything after a customer leaves.”

The 50-seat restaurant is currently seating at half capacity, although they also have an outdoor patio.

Sophia said that she noticed people are really enjoying being able to eat out again. She noted that many customers just want to get out and see their friends again.

Sophia is now looking forward to seeing the end of the pandemic when she can open fully and finally have a grand opening.

“We didn’t have a grand opening, because of COVID,” Sophie explained. “We hope everything is over soon. Customers tell me they are glad we have opened the dining room. They tell me they haven’t seen their friends for months. People really want to start going out.”

The Halibut House features fish and chips of course, and also has a full menu of seafood platters and entrees.

They open at 8:00 a.m., with an impressive breakfast menu as well.

Sophie said she is planning a grand opening at their First Street location as soon as it is safe to do so.

Meanwhile, she and her staff will continue to fry up the fish and serve their customers both in a take-out capacity and in the limited dining dining room and patio.

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