Transcript

When former NHLer Tomáš Kaberle shows up at people's doors with takeout, he says they either start giggling and snapping pictures, or they look at him quizzically and say, "I know you from somewhere."

The retired Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman might not be on the ice anymore, but he's still busy working — this time for his restaurateur wife.

"It's a family-style restaurant. And, you know, at the same time, I like to think of all the customers like a family," Kaberle told As It Happens host Carol Off.

"It's kind of fun. If I can make them laugh at this time, whatever it takes."

'I kind of pushed him a little bit'

The hockey champ, who won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, is married to ​Julia Kaberle, co-owner of Quanto Basta in Toronto. Julia runs the Italian fine-dining restaurant with her sister.

Like all restaurants in Ontario right now, it has transitioned to takeout only during the coronavirus pandemic.

"He didn't really offer. I kind of pushed him a little bit," Julia said of her husband's new role. "I said, 'Please, can you help us out? It's getting so busy.' And he said, 'Absolutely. You know, anything to give this a go."

Ontario reported 170 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on Thursday morning, the largest single-day increase in the province since the outbreak began. The additional cases bring the provincial tally to 858, including 13 deaths and eight cases that are resolved.

Premier Doug Ford first started urging restaurants to stop sit-down service on March 16. He made it official on March 23, when the government shut down all non-essential services.

Tomáš Kaberle heading out with a batch of deliver's from his wife Julia's restaurant, Quanto Basta in Toronto. (Submitted by Julia Kaberle)

Quanto Basta is usually the kind of place you visit with groups of people to sit down and enjoy some wine and high-end service.

Julia says business is "significantly down" at the moment, but her loyal customers are helping out by ordering in and buying gift cards.

"Quanto Basta​​​​​​ is kind of a restaurant like the Cheers, where everybody knows your name," she said.

To keep everyone safe, she says she's whittled her staff down to the bare essentials — a chef, a delivery person and herself. And everyone washes their hands every 20 minutes.

"I don't know how it's going to turn out in the next two weeks or so, but I do feel that takeout might be the new dining experience," she said.

In the meantime, having a famous delivery guy is definitely helping.

"I've got repeat customers asking for me, which is just funny," Tomáš said. "One of our customers, I made their son laugh and made their day, and stuff like that. So that makes me happy."

When it comes to his fans/customers, Tomáš says he's happy to oblige requests for pictures and chit-chat.

But no autographs, he says. He has to keep his distance.

Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from CBC News. Interview with Tomáš and Julia Kaberle produced by Morgan Passi.