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Lynn restaurant owner says curb-side a downturn for business
By Gayla Cawley and David Mclellan | April 30, 2020
LYNN — One Lynn restaurant owner is pushing back on a city policy that is limiting customers to curbside pick-up only, saying the new takeout restriction is hurting business.
And he says he’s not alone.
“I’ve had other owners reach out to me in the past week or so because the limitation to curbside was really affecting the way we are operating and it gave us another downturn,” said Taso Nikolakopoulos, owner of John’s Roast Beef & Seafood. “It was just more difficult to operate.”
A city essential services order that went into effect on April 12 prohibits customers from entering restaurants, bars and like establishments. Instead, food establishments have been directed to operate via drive-through, curbside pickup, delivery or walk-up window service, according to the city website.
Before the new order, customers had been allowed to enter restaurants and like establishments to pick up food if they were wearing a face covering.
Swampscott also limits customers to curbside pick-up, but the cities of Salem and Peabody both allow customers to come inside restaurants and other food establishments to pick up food, as long as they’re wearing a mask.
“They can go inside to order/pick-up,” said Peabody Health Director Sharon Cameron. “However, we do encourage pre-ordering/pre-payment and curbside pick-up as a preferred option.”
Nikolakopoulos said his argument lies with how liquor and convenience stores are not being held to the same standard. For instance, he said customers are still allowed to come inside those businesses, touch merchandise and wait in line.
“We offer a safer scenario because we have our customers prepay and give numbers over the phone, rather than them coming in for liquor or scratch tickets,” said Nikolakopoulos. “Limiting us to curbside and delivery, it just hurts us even more and punches us when we’re down.”
Nikolakopoulos said his restaurant has already banned cash transactions, and there is a sign on the door for “the first time in 30 years, saying, ‘Do not enter,'” confusing longtime customers.
Citing that perceived inequity, Nikolakopoulos reached out to Lisa Tobin, the city’s sanitarian, last week, with a legal inquiry about whether there could be some exceptions made in the city’s new takeout policy for restaurants.
“We understand and respect all the necessary safety steps,” Nikolakopoulos wrote in an email to Tobin. “The question or the point I would like to point out in regards to no ‘in store’ pick-up is, what is the difference of someone waiting in line at a liquor store or convenience store compared to one customer at a time policy picking up a prepaid order?
“With limitations, I believe restaurants can provide a safe system of ‘in house’ pick-up and provide that essential option to operate for their customers and staff.”
Tobin then sent his inquiry to the city’s law department to seek “further guidance” on the policy last Friday, according to emails shared with The Item.
But the legal opinion rendered by City Solicitor George Markopoulos on Monday allows for no loopholes in the policy and upholds the emergency orders that the city has enacted.
Markopoulos wrote that the new policy “reduces virus exposure through wait times at establishments that prepare food to order,” which aligns with its main goal, which is to reduce person-to-person contact and frequent surface contacts. The policy is also meant to reduce the risk of exposure to owners and employees, he wrote.
“Over this past weekend alone 14 people have died, so the seriousness of this situation cannot be understated,” Markopoulos wrote in his opinion. “Lynn businesses have been terrific at realizing the seriousness of the threat this virus continues to pose.
“This policy was written in consultation with public health and medical professionals, including those from Lynn Community Health Center. The current Emergency Orders stand and the current policy best meets the needs of the city at this time during this public health crisis,” he wrote.
According to a city official, the policy did not encompass liquor and convenience stores because the risk for exposure is lower. The difference is restaurants, bars and similar food establishments are preparing and cooking food, while convenience and liquor store customers go in, get what they want, buy it and then leave with their pre-packaged items.
Still, Nikolakopoulos maintains the additional restriction is deterring some customers, who are finding it to be too much of a hassle to pick up a sandwich. It doesn’t help matters that customers aren’t limited to curbside pickup in some other communities, such as neighboring Salem, he said.
Nikolakopoulos said he has not had to lay anyone off, but he hasn’t been able to pay himself in order to keep his business afloat. It’s been hard to turn away customers for lack of credit cards or prevent them from coming inside when he “needs their income the most.”
But he doesn’t plan to pursue the matter further.
“They gave me their answer and I have to live by it and respect it,” said Nikolakopoulos. “It’s unnecessary, but it’s just the way it is.”