About this series. COVID-19 killed tens of thousands of people in the northeast, caused high unemployment and destroyed the economy. In a series of ongoing stories, Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer, and USA TODAY Network Atlantic Group read about what the government’s reaction to the virus was, what policies worked at the end, and why we remain vulnerable if the coronavirus hits harder. Autumn.
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It’s a pretty undeniable idea.
A historic pandemic devastated China first, then Europe, and then Seattle districts closed overnight. Therefore, Mandy and Sean Arnold chose to wait for the end of the storm.
The owners of The Left Bank restaurant in downtown York were the first, and few, to temporarily close before the state itself did.
“At the moment, the main thing is not to win or lose. Right now, it’s just survival,” Arnold said. “Restaurants as a whole, as an industry … we need to survive, so that we can do what we like to do and so that other people can get lost in what’s happening.”
Now they’re back in business for the first time in months. The reopening came shortly after York County entered the green phase and the city approved an extension of outdoor food for its “Restaurant Row.”
But Arnolds and other restaurateurs face a new wave of restrictions. And a list in development of questions haunts them: how can we navigate it? Will there be good time for al fresco dining? Can we back up the heaters in the fall, winter? Will we have any other funding circulars? What if a worker gets sick?
“No place to eat needs no one to test positive,” Arnold said. “When something like this happens, we’ll have to close.”
The shockwave
In March and April, small businesses, i.e. those in the hotel sector, were shaken.
Prominent Michelin-starred restaurants have closed their doors, or some have returned to basics, as Aligned did in Chicago, from $700 in tastings to $40 in takeaway orders.
Some restaurants had to rotate. Breweries and distilleries have used their operations to help frontline staff and front responders, from bourbon to hand sanitizer.
Some have temporarily closed, others permanently.
Hotels closed their doors as businesses and recreational activities stopped. Some used rooms for lifeguards, a new technique to combat a new virus, and a historic loss of profits.
The reality: life had changed. People didn’t travel. They didn’t have dinner at the table anymore. They didn’t walk the streets.
No going from bar to bar, no motel appointments at midnight.
There’s no business. It’s not fun.
What failed: a Harrisburg punch
Switching to take-home orders has been a learning curve for many restaurants. For maximum feeding establishments, the initial closure required them to be temporarily closed or opened for a limited takeaway service, basically on weekends.
For some, this kept the lights on. And as food was made outdoors, the tandem provided much-needed relief. It wasn’t until mid-July that restaurants experienced the same uncertainty and tension they experienced at the start of the pandemic.
On July 15, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a 25% relief in the occupation of 25% eating places. The president of the Pennsylvania Restaurants and Accommodations Association, John Longstreet, the “devastating.”
“We weren’t even 50% (capacity) at first,” said Rui Lucas, owner of na’Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse and Iron Abbey restaurants in Horsham. “It’s not like other people coming back hastily. We didn’t have to stop other people from entering the restaurant. Customer confidence is very low.”
“Going to 25% (capacity) hasn’t solved anything,” he said. “Everything he did got rid of our employees”
To make matters worse, the sale of alcoholic beverages was allowed along with the sale of food.
Some restaurants have discovered a loophole in the court order. Offer a bag of chips or an embed with a pint or cocktail. In response, the PLCB and the Liquor Control Office published the fine print on what constitutes a “food”: Each beverage sale had to be accompanied by a meal prepared on site; small plates such as an accompaniment of fries or a small salad. don’t make the cut.
The governor’s resolution addressed to restaurants, which he said was the cause of an increase in COVID-19 cases. The resolution, which generated strong criticism, closed more restaurants last week than the first wave.
“You want to ask questions: what is the parameter to make decisions?” Longstreet said. “If we haven’t noticed a sudden increase, why are we taking drastic action?”
Moran believes the mandate is due to a few rotten apples that ignored CDC rules and put workers and consumers at risk.
“Those who adhere to regulations lose business,” he said.
Pittsburgh Magazine’s food critic Hal B. Klein said the idea that Wolf had done a decent task overall to handle the pandemic, however, believes the governor has spoiled the way the green phase reopening was implemented.
“Things got a little out of hand and they had to recover,” he said. “This puts corporations in a complicated position where those who need to be responsible, to help their employees, are in a position where they can’t make money.”
What worked: outdoor meals, street closures offer a ray of hope
Stimulus checks and payroll hedging systems have helped companies get afloat.
Then came here an outburst of optimism after weeks of uncertainty.
The Yellow Phase (a call to a hero with ammo): outdoor meals and the promise of a green phase.
“It gave hope to the restaurants, ” said Longstreet. “You can hear the optimism (of) the restaurateurs.”
With al fresco dining, restaurants can choose from some businesses. Bars and breweries can serve a few pints again. People would come back.
By the time the green phase comes, well, things can get back to normal.
The mandates, adding 50% occupancy and table limits for four, were part of a list of open discussions that advocates such as PRLA shared with Governor Wolf’s administration.
“Restaurants want to get money straight through this,” Longstreet said.
With meals outdoors, the excitement returned. The ability to re-inject profits into restaurants is a ray of short-term hope. However, it was hope.
Cities have given up permits to eat, cut traffic off main streets and helped raise parklets to expand meals, such as in Bethlehem. With the help of the PLCB, municipalities conveniently open container legislation while passing takeaway cocktails.
“This has helped several restaurants get those first few months,” said Chuck Moran of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association.
In downtown York City, city officials worked with restaurateurs to close the city’s “Restaurant Row” along North George Street. The street would be closed to traffic from Friday to Sunday.
“Right now, with a 25 percent return, I think some of us would think it’s enough to close and wait. Everyone wants to know that the final (the street) is helping us through,” Mandy Arnold said.
And they were passing by. For about two and a half weeks.
What to do: Restaurants want a rescue
In addition to loyal local consumers and a steady flow of innovation, restaurateurs and advocates say the hospitality industry wants federal investment and the government’s investment wave to survive.
“The feeling I have is that we are at a crossroads right now … unless there’s a rescue in the coming weeks, you’ll see a lot more restaurants closed,” Klein said.
The RESTAURANTs Act, a $120 billion aid program for independent restaurants, is going through Congress and is exceeding the expectations of an industry that accounts for about 4% of the country’s GDP.
“I’m sure he’ll be a general again until the end of the year,” Longstreet said.
At this point, the feeling of many industry players is that they can only last a while. Outdoor foods offer short-term relief. If things don’t get better during the winter vacation season, selling options like the left bank in York may want some other transitional closure or a strict business model, Arnold said.
“If the stage becomes so serious that it is a total shutdown, as before, we will move on to a strictly progressive model. If this happens, do they have a stimulus for our workers to fight unemployment?” He said.
For restaurateurs like him, the chance of surviving a momentary wave lies in a few firms in Washington.
Gannett (c) USA TODAY NETWORK