ChezCasa Chef Hopes Pandemic Patience Pays Off Soon In Salem

SALEM, MA — Keenan Langlois has a vision of the ChezCasa he wanted it to be when he opened the Bridge Street sandwich shop late in 2019.

The food is already on point for the chef who spent years plying his craft at renowned restaurants in Greater Boston. The space has his personal touch since he did most of the interior work himself before opening up in the former Stacia's Pizza location.

Even the customer response is gratifying as he said patrons will often call him from their cars to tell him how much they liked the to-go order they just picked up and scoffed down in the parking lot.

But four months after he opened ChezCasa, a piece of what Langlois always hoped it would be was put on hold indefinitely amid the onset of the coronavirus health crisis last March.

"I wanted to have a direct connection to people who are eating and create a little home here," he told Patch. "I want people to come in and experience a nice, welcoming space. I want some loud music, and people to be laughing and talking about great meatballs — people laughing and enjoying themselves.

"That's what I want to see."

Langlois knows it will be a while before he sees his vision fully realized as the pandemic closes in on a full calendar year with masks and social distancing here for at least a while. But the hope is that as the months go by, the weather warms, and with eased state restrictions like the ones Gov. Charlie Baker said will go into effect in March, more people will once again look forward to going out and getting a good meal at a cool place.

"I think that vaccinations need to get into people's bodies a lot faster," he said. "Once more and more people get them, they'll have more comfort going out. Hopefully, they will take precautions, but they will come out more just to get out of the house after a year."

As of Monday, most businesses will go to 50 percent capacity as the state moves back into Step 2 of Phase 3 of reopening. Restaurants will have no capacity limits, though most will operate at reduced numbers as long as tables and customers have to remain socially distanced or separated with partitions.

As of March 22, fans will be allowed back in TD Garden and Fenway Park in what is being called Phase 4, Step 1 — and the start of what Baker called the "next normal."

"As COVID cases go down, as vaccinations go up, you will find people more comfortable and more willing to go out and 'play' a little bit," Baker said in announcing the loosened restrictions in Salem on Thursday. "Part of the message (with improving numbers) is that it's OK to go back to doing some of the things you were doing before."

Langlois hopes that is the case after a year of sales he said were steady, if not spectacular. He told Patch he thought he was just ramping up to a big spring and even bigger summer last year when the health crisis hit.

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He immediately took out the 14 chairs and four tables he had for in-person dining, but was able to stay open for takeout when the state shut down all non-essential businesses effective March 17, 2020. Weeks later, he said was on the verge of taking a break as well when the statewide mask mandate changed his mind.

"At that point, I felt a sigh of relief," he said. "I was wearing one. But I didn't want to have to get into a discussion with people about how I wanted them to put a mask on in my place.

"So, then I decided to stay open. I feel like I came to Salem to do something. If it's to feed people myself to help them get through this in my little shop then I'll do it."

Langlois said neighborhood regulars and the occasional travelers along the coast have been the core of the business for the past 11 months.

"They have kept me going the whole year," he said. "I have regulars who come in two, three times a week. They have kept us in the game."

He said business has been "pretty static" throughout the year and that he is happy for restaurant owners like him that some of the more recently announced grant and loan programs are targeted for smaller business owners to be able to get through until enough people embrace going back out again just to have a good time.

"My hope is that this summer will be a lot different than last summer," he said. "People getting out on the road, trusting restaurants.

"It's all about patience. As long as people keep coming in, that's the fuel. That's what keeps me going."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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