On Dorchester Avenue, one staple food spot is back to its take-out roots, for now, after just making the move to add more seating.

Jennifer Nguyen, owner of the Vietnamese restaurant Bánh Mì Ba Le, said “we are taking it day by day.”

More coverage of local restaurants adapting to the COVID-19 regulations.

"We stay open for our staff and customers,” Nguyen told the Reporter on Thursday, “but we look for a way to keep everyone safe too.”

Once a bustling shop with only a single table nestled among the packages, snacks, and bubble tea station, Ba Le recently completed an expansion that roughly doubled its size and added seating — a goal Nguyen looked forward to rapturously in a mid-2019 interview right before Dorchester Day.

Nguyen confirmed that they are back to solely take-out service, in accordance with the state-wide restrictions on restaurants.

The staff is “doing our best to encourage social distancing among the customers,” Nguyen said.

She added that they are thinking of transitioning to window service or curb side service only.

Jennifer Smith is the former news editor of the Reporter. She lives in Dorchester.