Wahoo’s Bistro and Patio in the Town of St George celebrated its tenth anniversary this week by feeding 50 needy East Enders.On Monday, diners selected by the Salvation Army, received takeout dinners of anniversary cake, wahoo nuggets, peas and rice and mixed vegetables.“It wasn’t what we envisioned at the beginning of the year,” co-owner Alfred Konrad admitted. “We couldn’t do anything big because of the pandemic, so we decided to do something to help the community. It was fun.”He said Wahoo’s will hold a bigger bash later in the year. Mr Konrad said when Wahoo’s first opened on Water Street, he and business partner, Geza Wolfe, underestimated just how well the business would do.“We didn’t expect it to get so busy and successful,” Mr Wolfe said. In fact, they were overwhelmed on their first day of operation, when the restaurant filled up with visitors who only had a short time to eat. Afterward, the menu was adjusted to make sure Wahoo’s offered items that could be cooked and served quickly.And they had some challenges attracting staff.“At first, it was difficult to convince staff to come to St George’s to work,” Mr Wolfe said. “It was a new business and they weren’t sure how busy the restaurant was going to be and whether they would make any money.”Today, the restaurant has 30 staff, some of them part-time workers and all of them are Bermudian. “Ten members of our staff have been with us since day one,” Mr Wolfe said.Mr Konrad said having Bermudian staff is an advantage.“When people go on holiday to another country they want to be served by the locals,” Mr Wolfe said. “And our local customers like to see Bermudians working there also.”Mr Konrad said the business has always had a strong local following.He and Mr Wolfe are hoping that will get them through the hard times until the tourism industry resumes. “Bermudian diners are very well travelled and they eat out a lot,” Mr Wolfe said. “They know what is good and what isn’t.”Mr Konrad said the pandemic has hit Wahoo’s hard.“There was definitely an adjustment period, but everyone was in the same situation,” he said. “Everyone has had to reinvent themselves a bit. It’s not about changing what you sell, but changing the way you do business.”He said they had always done takeout, but had to pivot to produce much more during the pandemic. “For a while that was our only business,” Mr Konrad said.“We just had to do the best we could,” Mr Wolfe said. “Things are looking slightly better with Phase 3 coming online. That is another step forward.” He said there is a handful of staff working at the restaurant and they hope the opening up of the island will mean they can bring back more. “This is particularly hard on our part-time staff because we have to take care of our full-time staff first,” Mr Wolfe said. He was pleased that they had permission to block off Water Street on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for al fresco dining. “We will have to see how things work,” he said. “We’d like to also have people in our dining room.”Mr Wolfe said St George has not been hit by the pandemic any harder than anywhere else in Bermuda. “We are all in the same boat,” he said. “We need the tourists back.”• For more information see Wahoos.bm, or call 297-1307. Wahoo’s food is now available on the Hook Island delivery app for the East End