Essex County restaurants have been hampered by the state’s dining-in ban, and while takeout and delivery are still allowed, even those services have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s far from business-as-usual.
“We stopped doing deliveries because the drivers don’t want to do it,” said Sumit Saini at Atha’s Famous Roast Beef, 25 Boston St., Lynn. “It’s not that it’s scary, it’s caution. They have families.”
Atha’s eight employees include four delivery drivers. He said employees have been allowed to do other jobs at the restaurant. When people come in for takeout orders, they are encouraged to keep a distance from others, and no cash is accepted because of the frequency it changes hands.
“We used to be busy, now I’m talking to you,” Saini said over the phone Tuesday. “Everybody is suffering.”
Gov. Charlie Baker announced the ban on March 15 due to the state’s growing number of cases of COVID-19, the coronavirus that has since infected at least 5,752 people in Massachusetts. At the time of the ban, there were fewer than 200 confirmed cases in the state, and Baker announced the ban would last through April 7.
Tuesday, the ban was extended through May 4.
“I wish they could give us an actual date, rather than us getting ready to open then pushing it back,” said Jeff Floramo, owner of Route 1 Grill House in Saugus.
It’s uncertain how long the coronavirus outbreak will last, making it difficult for restaurants to place orders for more food and supplies, and plan ahead for when things return to normal, Floramo said.
According to Floramo, he normally employs 30 people. Now, it’s only Floramo and one cook in the building during the week, and one employee on rotation during the weekends. Floramo said the intention is to bring everyone back when the coronavirus outbreak is over.
“We’re just surviving,” Floramo said. “Most of my wait staff, they’re single mothers and there’s nothing I can do right now.”
Many restaurants have “loss-of-business” clauses in their contracts with insurance companies, Floramo said, but there is no “coronavirus clause,” making it uncertain how much help struggling companies will actually get from insurance. He said he would like legislation passed to guarantee insurance companies help businesses that are suffering during the outbreak.
Route 1 Grill House has been working with customers to minimize contact during takeout orders. Floramo said customers who call the restaurant at (781) 558-2271 can pay over the phone by providing a credit card number. Then, when a customer comes to pick up their order, the restaurant staff can leave the order on the bar for the customer to take.
Rich “Sully” Sullivan, the owner of R.F. O’Sullivan’s, 151 Central Ave., Lynn, said his staff has been reduced to himself, his wife, son and daughter, “compared to having three cooks, a dishwasher, two waitresses, and a bartender.”
Sullivan said none of his employees have been laid off, and the intention is for them all to resume their normal jobs after the outbreak. Since R.F. O’Sullivan’s has had to cut its cleaning service, Sullivan said employees are being brought in every week to help clean as a way to stay partially employed. After the outbreak, “everyone’s coming back,” Sullivan said.
“We’re trying to give what little we have,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the restaurant is offering a curbside-pickup service for takeout orders, and giving half-price meals to city employees, as well as workers at large employers like General Electric who have lost work due to the outbreak. The restaurant’s Somerville location has been closed due to the outbreak.
“We’re hanging in there, and we’re going to hang in there,” Sullivan said.
Other businesses, like Hammersmith’s Family Restaurant in Saugus, have closed during the outbreak, and others, like John’s Roast Beef, 111 Western Ave., Lynn, are requiring employees travel only between home and work.
Taso Nikolakopoulos, owner of John’s Roast Beef, said the restaurant is “obviously down some percentage points.”
However, business has gotten better for the restaurant after the initial “scare” following the governor’s announcement of the dine-in ban, large-gatherings ban, and school closures. Weekends in particular have begun to have a “sense of normalcy” now that people are used to the restrictions, and more people are coming in for takeout orders, Nikolakopoulos said.
When people come in, there are taped markings on the restaurant’s floor to encourage social distancing, and no one is allowed to use the bathroom. A curbside-pickup service is also offered, so customers don’t need to exit their cars when picking up food. Customers can also read credit card numbers to the restaurant staff rather than physically handing a card over, and the delivery drivers are accommodating requests from customers who want to minimize contact.
“It’s me 90 percent of the time on the phone taking an order,” Nikolakopoulos said. “If they say something like, ‘Leave it by the door,’ we will. It’s a communication thing.”
No one has been laid off at John’s Roast Beef, but some workers are staying home out of fear of the virus. A week ago, a few of the employees were tested for coronavirus, but all the tests came back negative, Nikolakopoulos said.
“We want to keep people safe, and we want to keep our staff safe,” he said.
