For today’s Q&A with a local business, we speak to Wilson Rodriguez, co-owner of Pesca Peruvian Bistro. Located at 70 Main St., the popular restaurant opened about 18 months ago. It’s open 4 to 8 p.m. daily and offers curbside pickup (turn off of Locust Avenue at Joe’s Pizza and drive past the pizzeria to the white fence in back).
Pesca Peruvian Bistro co-owners Wilson Rodriguez and Jose Draganac inside the restaurant at 70 Main St. at the time it opened. Credit: Michael Dinan
Here’s our interview.
New Canaanite: How are you doing there?
Wilson Rodriguez: Well we are doing an average of 10 orders per day. That is all we are doing right now and there is nothing else. We are following everybody’s advice, the authorities’ advice, not serving any alcohol that is not sealed. We have our regular menu and it’s been a great response.
Paella from Pesca on Main Street in New Canaan. Photo courtesy of Pesca
I’m sure 10 orders is down significantly from what you’d usually be doing now. What is your sense of whether Pesca will be able to continue past this crisis, in your view?
Right now, that is all we are allowed to. We are waiting for this situation to get better and we don’t know what guidelines the Health Department is going to ask us to follow. But for sure we have a huge patio and we are kind of predicting that table distances will be key for restaurants who have big spaces, especially outdoor spaces which we have. We have a patio that can fit about 50 people normally. But obviously with this thing we can fit 20 to 25 people easily. And inside same thing. Our whole capacity is for over 100 people inside and we could probably fit 30 to 40 people easily.
Grilled octopus from Pesca on Main Street in New Canaan. Photo courtesy of Pesca
What has the support from the community been like?
There have been so decent. We’re grateful that [Saturday] night they brought us some T-shirts for the guys, supporting us.
Who did?
Customers a family. Very good customers. They sent a bag of T-shirts supporting New Canaan and supporting us. And they the guys very generously. That means they want us to be in business.
Wedge salad from Pesca. Laura Ault photo
What are your best-selling items?
At this moment Lomo Saltado, Chaufa, empanadas that you can even keep a few days in the refrigerator and reheat them. Ceviches are always great to share, paella. And we have a great steak, great burgers. We have salmon burgers, salmon itself. Those are the dishes that people are asking for. And the grilled octopus, they love it.
What is your message for customers?
Calamari from Pesca on Main Street in New Canaan. Photo courtesy of Pesca
My message is we are very grateful to New Canaan and grateful to have these customers that are supporting us and supporting everybody—not only us. And we are very thankful that we came to New Canaan, being very new. We are not even two years old and the response that we have had has been amazing and that’s why we think that we are going to make it in this town, because of the response in such a small period of time. All I can say is thank you, be well, stay healthy and we will get out of this. It’s going to be in our memories, hopefully, if we all follow directions as we are doing right now.
Thanks for the reminder. Ordering tonight! They made uncooked empanadas for me that I was able to freeze and then cook as needed, which the kids loved.