By Claire Ballor
09:32 on August 24, 2020 CDT
Many restaurants are still struggling to survive, swinging precariously between monetary misery and recovery. The insurmountable operating prices and the dreaded spread of COVID-19 among staff have permanently or temporarily closed countless restaurants in North Texas.
In an attempt at the virus and its economic destruction, some restaurateurs hope to continue paying really high sums for new technologies and improved security measures.
Al Biernat, owner of Al Biernat, has installed air purification systems in its two Dallas steakhouses. The restaurateur says ActivePure filtration systems, which are designed to remove contaminants in the air, charge $50,000 each, but the value is the peace of mind they provide.
All workers, delivery drivers and food suppliers at the two Sites in Al Biernat also monitor their temperature before entering. In June, Biernat was forced to temporarily close his dining room site in North Dallas after a worker tested positive, and seeks to avoid having to do so again.
“You have to start from the beginning and it all adds up,” he says. “There are times when, I will have to admit, it prevents me from sleeping at night.
Biernat is also restructuring its long-term business style by betting on all-inclusive takeaway, which still accounts for a significant portion of its sales. He and his team are creating a ghost kitchen concept called My One Kitchen that will offer the same Al Biernat cuisine, but in a way more suitable for family dinners to carry at a lower price.
Success in this economy is simply to return to normal, and the conclusions must remain in the dark, he says.
“If I have to cover expenses from six months to a year, it doesn’t matter,” Biernat says. “You’ll have to be grateful for what you have.”
Jon Alexis’ technique for staying ahead of the virus is to get every worker at his restaurants tested every two weeks.
The owner of TJ and Malibu Poke’s Seafood Market and Grill is also a co-owner of SafeWork, an on-site COVID-19 company, and uses the company to verify its own staff.
“You can’t stop COVID from entering your workplace, but you can prevent epidemics from shrinking in your workplace,” he says.
A handful of restaurants in North Texas control their employees, Alexis says, though admits it’s not economically viable for up to restaurants.
“I think it’s the safest way to run a place to eat right now, yet it’s expensive, especially at a time when it’s hard to manage a place to eat,” he adds. “I’m lucky enough to have a checking company and our plan is to check until we’re in a global crisis.”
He declined to say how much the SafeWork test costs.
While the maximum restaurant suffers financially, restaurateurs want to thoroughly assess the prices of implementing more measures and security methods to prevent epidemics, Alexis says.
“The answer is whatever the charge, you have to compare it to the ultimate treatment charge and public relations disorders that other people have had due to potential epidemics,” he says. “Everyone hates saying that, but it’s almost a new charge to do business. What are your other options? Do it every day and hope it doesn’t end with double-digit positives [COVID staff case]? Yes, it’s expensive, but so are the other options.”
At Tei-An, in downtown Dallas, Control spent more than $23,000 on new technologies for security measures.
A temperature scanner greets consumers when they arrive at the door and issues an alert if it detects a temperature of one hundred degrees or more. If a visitor activates the temperature scanner, a more accurate reading of its temperature is taken with the device to discharge a more accurate result.
A single temperature chamber and temperature scanner are located at the back of the front of the place to eat to allow workers to take the temperature before the shift.
“All restaurants what and who enters their restaurants,” says Best Ranglek, general manager of the Japanese restaurant.
No security measures are absolutely virus-proof, and there is a chance that the virus can still be located inside the restaurant, but spending cash to minimize the threat is valuable, Ranglek said.
Temperature chambers charge $7,900 and temperature scanners $2,300 Array Two non-contact sinks installed for hand washing workers charge $1,600 Array All door handles have also been replaced by copper curtains that have antibacterial properties.
Technology is a vital detail to keep Tei-An open, but Ranglek says the restaurant’s main defense against the spread of the virus, and also the cheapest inhibitor, is to put all staff at the same wavelength about how they behave outdoors. Work.
When the restaurant dining room reopened, the 22 workers minimized their chances of contracting and propagating COVID-19 by restricting their social interactions outside of work. This means no parties, no bars and social distance with other people outdoors from their homes.
There is an unusual understanding that each team member is guilty of helping keep the place open and their paid colleagues. It’s a must for the pandemic, Ranglek says.
“You have to be aware of what you’re doing outdoors. You’re working with other people who want that source of income right now, and if you put it at risk, you don’t have a team mentality.” he says.
Ranglek is confident in Tei-An’s ability to virus. All he considers is the option of some other series of government-demanded dining closures due to a momentary wave, yet he does not live off those “and if” or bring the negative power they release to the restaurant.
“Whatever happens, we’ll be ready,” he said. “The key is to stay alive.”
Claire Ballor