Raleigh’s dining community rallies around restaurant associated with coronavirus case
It could have been any Raleigh restaurant, but it ended up being so.ca.
Only 13 people came for dinner at so.ca last Thursday, the day after the Cameron Village restaurant announced that the individual with North Carolina’s first local case of coronavirus had dined there days before.
But on Friday and over the weekend it was a different story, as the local restaurant industry wrapped its arms around so.ca in a show of support and solidarity. Sean Degnan, the owner of so.ca, said there were 200 guests Friday night, plus solid services Saturday and Sunday.
“It just gave us such encouragement,” Degnan said in a phone interview Monday. “We’re really proud of our jobs and want to keep serving.”
On Wednesday, so.ca put a message on social media that the Wake County individual who had tested positive for the coronavirus had been to the restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 29. Degnan said the Wake County health department contacted him earlier that day. By Wednesday night, Degnan saw his restaurant become part of the news.
“We’re a special occasion, destination restaurant,” Degnan said of the Latin American-focused so.ca. “No one wants to walk by TV cameras to eat out for your anniversary or birthday.”
Degnan had cleaned every square inch of the restaurant, he said, sanitized surfaces, threw out linens, then hired a professional cleaning company using technology found in hospitals. Worried he still hadn’t shaken the stigma, he did the hardest thing of all: he asked for help.
“I’m not good at asking for help, I don’t think anyone really is,” Degnan said. “When we had 13 people for dinner Thursday night, it was kind of that come to Jesus moment.”
On Friday, the restaurant was full, mostly from people within the restaurant industry or friends of so.ca, Degnan said. On Saturday and Sunday it was the same story, with groups from Whiskey Kitchen and Niall Hanley’s Hibernian group coming for drinks and dinner. One Friday table of restaurant owners, Degnan said, left $1,000 tips, though he declined to name them. The North Carolina Pork Council offered to pay for 25 orders of so.ca’s Adobo Tomahawk pork chop.
“We felt a lot of support,” Degnan said. “From a lot of people in the industry, the overwhelming opinion is this could have happened to any one of us.”
Do you have questions about the coronavirus? The News & Observer will get the answers for you. Go to bit.ly/virusnc and let us know what you need to know.
In posting about the restaurant’s connection to the local case, Degnan said he didn’t see any other option. For any other businesses connected to the coronavirus, he hopes this weekend’s show of support is encouraging.
“I guess it was risky, but you have to tell your staff and your guests. How do you keep a secret?” Degnan said. “This industry is so close and supportive, I hope it makes it easier for other businesses to come forward, knowing how awesome our town is.”
Degnan said so.ca needs more than a good weekend, and that the broader industry has felt a cooling off over the past couple of weeks.
“We’re not the only place hurting,” Degnan said. “Across the board business is down in the last two weeks. ... I appreciate the response. It’s time to spread the love to all small businesses.”
