Restaurants are opening during the pandemic. Here’s what’s new.

Restaurants are being battered by the pandemic.

Word of closings across the Philadelphia area never ends, the pipeline of significant new projects has mostly dried up, and the outlook for the industry is grim.

Even so, the show is going on for owners who had planned to open before the shutdowns. Mindful of commitments, investments, and other expenses, restaurateurs are moving forward to complete their projects, though they are vexed by the uncertainty. For the most part, they are not counting on inside dining, at least in the short term.

Last week, Chad Rosenthal finally opened the third location of his barbecue specialist the Lucky Well, at 990 Spring Garden St. — a full three years after it was announced. The bar sits empty because of COVID-19 restrictions, but the Southern Pride smoker is popping out food for takeout and sidewalk dining. Construction is winding down on a future neighbor, a Chinese-Mexican hybrid called La Chinesca at 11th and Spring Garden Streets, though owner Michael Pasquarello does not have an expected completion date.

Let me brief you on three significant newcomers all ready to go, as well as a few other projects well underway.

One of the East Market development’s remaining projects — the 236-room Canopy by Hilton Philadelphia Center City hotel in the old Stephen Girard Building, across from the Loews at 12th and Ludlow Streets — opens Aug. 3.

The Wayward, a brasserie off the lobby (and marketed separately), will open that day with 30 seats of outdoor dining on a landscaped terrace festooned with strings of lights. Initially, it will serve dinner only as well as happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. Iron Hill Brewery, which has a location around the corner, is making a custom IPA called The Wayward IPA for the restaurant.

The “thing” will be gin (40-plus) and oysters at the daily happy hour. The dining room and bar have Art Deco elements, reflecting thebuilding’s architecture.

Well-traveled chef Yun Fuentes, a Puerto Rico native whose Philadelphia kitchens include Alma de Cuba, JG Domestic, Society Hill Society, and Double Knot, will do an American menu with French touches: snacks such as corn beignets, escargot croquettes, and cheese with local charcuterie accompaniments, and plates such as steak frites, hanger steak with bone marrow chimichurri, branzino amandine with green beans and fig jus, and a Pennsylvania-raised Angus burger. “It’s a melting pot of America,” Fuentes said.

March 16 was the first day of training for The Wayward’s 30 food-and-beverage employees. That was the day of the shutdown. “Trust and safety are on everybody’s mind,” said Tobias Moser, the general manager. “The menu was redone to make it more takeout-friendly,” he said. “If that’s what it takes, we’ll do it.”

The Arizona-based steakhouse Steak 48 went big for its first East Coast location, which will open as soon as indoor dining in Philadelphia is permitted — whenever that is. It has made no provisions for takeout or outdoor dining.

The company took more than 12,000 square feet (the former Ted’s Montana Grill and Ruth’s Chris spaces) in the Atlantic Building at Broad and Spruce Streets, across from the Kimmel Center. That’s about 500 seats in a collection of dining rooms over two floors. Work was just about completed in mid-March — and staff had just reported for training — when governments began shutting down bars and dining rooms.

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Steak 48 management decided to keep the 240 employeeson the payroll and to use the downtime to create safety measures that extend beyond the usual temperature checks, masks, and single-use menus. The glassed-in open kitchen has powerful ventilation and there will be employees dedicated to sanitation during service, said chief brand officer Oliver Badgio.

Also, Steak 48 will be open only for dinner, “so that leaves us a good, solid 16 to 18 hours a day to deep-clean,” he said. The company bought machines to spray down the entire restaurant during off-hours with thymol, an EPA-approved disinfectant derived from plants.

The staff has been cooking and serving mock meals, including massive steaks and seafood towers, practicing their social distancing. “We’re here for the long-term,” Badgio said. “There’s no reason to cut corners. The last thing we want to do is rush into it and be less than perfect.” To reduce the sterility of half-full dining rooms, Steak 48 has bought large artificial floral arrangements to be placed atop unoccupied tables. “It clearly designates that ‘Hey, I’m going to sit down and I’m not going to be concerned that someone’s going to sit next to me,‘” he said.

Management is targeting 40% occupancy, which Badgio said is acceptable from a customer-service standpoint, as well as from the employee side. “It’s about taking responsibility for those 240 families that have a safe and comfortable place to go to work every day,” he said.

Tela’s Market & Kitchen really lit up the Francisville and Fairmount neighborhoods when it opened in late 2013 at 1833 Fairmount Ave. Now, developer Daniel Greenberg has steered his attention to the burgeoning North Broad Street corridor by converting a 19th-century stable into 41 apartments with an all-day cafe and market on the ground floor across from Osteria at 631 N. Broad St.

Clementine’s Stable Cafe, named after Greenberg’s black Lab, is targeting Aug. 10 for what he describes as a cousin to Tela’s. Chef Leo Forneas, whose resume includes Jean Georges’ 66 Restaurant and Center City’s Sampan, will start with a simple menu and coffee for takeout and free local delivery. There’s a liquor license, and a bottle shop is planned.

By the way, Tela’s is now offering limited full table service at dinnertime by reservation with cocktails from Bar Hygge down the block.