LOCATED along Bayshore Boulevard in Brisbane, California is a restaurant with a 162-year history that includes surviving the 1906 earthquake, the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak and the Great Depression in the 30s.
7 Mile House has been owned by Filipina American Vanessa Garcia since 2004, becoming a bustling popular dining and entertainment venue known for its comfort dishes, including sizzling sisig, a pulled pork adobo sandwich, and fish and chips dipped in San Miguel beer.
Following the Bay Area’s shelter in place orders, Garcia temporarily closed 7 Mile House, putting the health of employees and families first.
“After this is over, things won’t immediately go back to ‘the way they were.’ We are faced with the grim reality that the future of the hospitality and entertainment industry has been turned upside down with its guts ripped apart and no one knows what the future looks like,” Garcia wrote on the 7 Mile House website.
However, inspired by the resilience of the owners before her, she has re-opened the restaurant for take-out and delivery on Wednesday, April 29.
“But as I scramble to find our place in this virus-plagued society, I cannot help but think of 7 Mile’s 162-year-old past,” she said, adding “I know little of their struggles, but I do know one thing: that 7 Mile House is a story of resilience and that’s not about to end now.”
Starting this week, 7 Mile House will begin operating Wednesday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a majority of the menu still available so diners can still enjoy their sisig, ube cheesecake and a glass of the famous 7 Mile Mango Margarita at home.
Additionally, bottled sauces and essential grocery items like milk and eggs are being sold. The restaurant plans to offer meal kits, family platters, and frozen packages of its top sellers, lumpia, adobo and sisig.
To limit the spread and ensure cleanliness, it has put certain measures in place, including minimal contact curbside pickup, no-walk up orders and no service if a customer doesn’t have a mask.
In addition to ordering online at 7MileHouse.com, delivery is available on GrubHub and Uber Eats. The restaurant is also selling gift cards and social distancing t-shirts and has set up a GoFundMe that will go toward operating costs.
