Cafe des Artistes pushes forward throughout the pandemic

Scott Anders, owner of Cafe des Artistes, went into escrow three days before everything was shut down last March.

"We took over (the cafe) at the beginning of last year," Anders said. "We're proud of what we do and I think our name is getting out there, business is picking up."

When the pandemic caused businesses to close, many struggled.

"I have to give credit to the art center who we lease the space from, because they really worked with us and helped us out a lot in many many different ways with COVID happening, and so they've been, definitely a big help and a big support to us," Anders said.

They followed all the mandates.

"Sometimes we were outside, sometimes we were allowed to be inside and sometimes it was just take-out," Anders said.

San Diego County recently moved into the red tier on March 17, allowing restaurants to resume indoor operations at 25% capacity, or 100 people, whichever is fewer.

Everything Cafe des Artistes does is primarily locally sourced.

"We remodeled the place, and it's like an upscale wine bar look inside now," Anders said. "Everyone's really enjoying it, and so everyone that worked on it was from Fallbrook, and all the food that I'm sourcing from avocados to all the rest of the produce, it's all Fallbrook.

"We offer gluten free options as well as vegan and vegetarian dishes, gourmet desserts, European beer and wine, and we do have fermented cocktails as well," he added.

The changes due to COVID-19 have been hard on everyone.

"It's difficult like all restaurants I think are dealing with," Anders said. "We've tried to look at it optimistically, and we've tried to see it as an opportunity. Whenever there's a problem there's an opportunity, and what it is for an opportunity for us being a new restaurant, is a chance to crawl before we walk and really kind of perfect our craft."

Anders added that with the changes, they've really been able to personalize their service.

"What (its) really done is give us an opportunity to personally get to know our clientele here in Fallbrook and regulars to Fallbrook, and kind of hear them, get to know them, see what they like, what they may not like, recommendations, and really adhere to it," he said.

To see a list of Fallbrook businesses that are open, visit https://www.fallbrookchamberofcommerce.org/.

Lexington Howe can be reached by email at [email protected].

KEYWORDS: Local, Fallbrook, Cafe des Artistes, COVID-19, San Diego County