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Restaurants facing the new reality of COVID-19
By Elyse Carmosino, Gayla Cawley, and David Mclellan | May 1, 2020
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts just passed 60,000. And now with more than 3,000 deaths, there is no sign the current pandemic is going to dissipate soon, leaving restaurant owners to worry about their bottom lines, and the job security of their staff.
It’s been over a month since Gov. Charlie Baker ordered all restaurants and bars to halt dine-in services on March 17, and although take-out and delivery services are still permitted, many are harshly affected by the pandemic.
Some local restaurants are reporting a roughly 90 percent loss in business.
“We’re getting a good amount of takeout orders and we have a lot of regular customers who have been great, but it’s still about 10 percent of my normal business,” said Rolly Hayes, of Rolly’s Tavern at 338 Broadway, in Lynn.
“With the reduced staff, it’s working, but I’m anxious to reopen,” he said.
Hayes, who has had to lay off about 25 people, said he applied for and received a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan from the federal government. He’s modified the to-go menu because takeout business has been sufficient to keep staff busy, but stocking food supplies has been difficult, because many suppliers are also feeling the COVID-19 sting.
At Supino’s Italian Restaurant, at 250 Newbury St., in Danvers, owner Ron Supino said the business is “struggling because of the loss in sales.” However, Supino said that he has been “quite impressed” with the increase in demand for takeout and delivery services.
Supino has had to lay off employees, mostly on the waitstaff, but he was able to hire takeout and delivery employees at the same time, adapting to the current situation. In total, he’s laid off eight employees and has four working.
Supino said that if restaurants are mandated to open in phases, such as only allowing customers into dining areas to a certain capacity, it may not be worth it for him to reopen right away.
“If you can only allow a few people in at a time, it’s not worth opening,” he said. “But I always like to maintain the loyal, steady clientele we’ve had for 48 years.”
Justin Bara, one of the co-managers, at Tennessee’s Real BBQ Real Fast, 260 Andover St., Peabody, said there are ups and downs for the restaurant that employs 14 people.
Customers, he said, have been “extremely generous,” tipping staff better than under usual circumstances. And, especially on weekends, Bara said he’s surprised how busy it can still get.
“Sometimes it’s hard too. It will be 5 p.m. and everyone will want to order and our phone lines will be jammed,” Bara said.
But there are drawbacks and on certain days business is down “50 to 60 percent,” Bara said.
Because of a local order, all patrons and employees must wear masks at the restaurant, Bara said. People have been happy to follow the order, and there haven’t been any issues.
One positive is Tennessee’s and other Peabody restaurants are allowed to have customers enter the building, as long as they are getting to-go orders and not sitting down to eat. Bara said other municipalities have instituted curbside-only rules that only allow restaurant staff to bring meals out to customers in their cars. Bara also said he hopes more people will realize they do not have to use the curbside service only.
Susan Panagakis, owner of Charlie’s Seafood, at 188 Essex St., in Lynn, said unlike other restaurants in the region, Charlie’s Seafood has not skipped a beat in terms of business.
In fact, she said Charlie’s has been seeing some new customers during the dine-in ban.
“I guess because we’ve been here almost 59 years in August and we’ve always been set up for takeout and delivery, and we’re blessed with a big parking lot, we’re doing very well,” said Panagakis. “We’re already takeout and delivery so we’re already set up, whereas other restaurants had to fine tune to get to that point.”
It doesn’t hurt that the food is also very good, Panagakis said, noting that new customers have referenced the positive reviews that they’ve seen online.
“I think people are wanting to get out and they’re taking rides,” said Panagakis. “I’m an oldie but goodie. I have a regular following so now it’s jumped higher. It’s all good and we’re doing the best we can.”
Still, Panagakis said she’s had to make some adjustments. Customers can no longer come inside, so there’s been a total switch to curbside delivery and her staff has had to come up with a way to handle call-ins.
She hasn’t made any layoffs, but her regulars haven’t been able to work for a variety of reasons. Those employees are not being paid and Panagakis said she’s not sure if they’ve been able to collect unemployment.
Panagakis has applied for an SBA loan, but whether she will get it remains up in the air.
“It’s been a strain on the help,” said Panagakis. “They’re trying to get unemployment, (but it’s) hard to get right now. The systems can’t keep up. If I get this loan, it probably will help them as well.”
Citing the hardships she’s seen, Panagakis said she wants to see the economy reopen “sooner rather than later,” but with proper precautions in place.
“Let people exercise caution — they’ve got brains,” said Panagakis. “Keep your distance, wear a mask, but let them open up the stores.”
Even when coronavirus restrictions on businesses are lifted, Uncommon Feasts, 271 Western Ave., Lynn, owner Michelle Mulford doesn’t anticipate her Lynn cafe will be able to return to its normal operation until at least mid-2021.
Even mid-2021 for being able to operate as a sit-down restaurant again would be a pleasant surprise, said Mulford.
Instead, Mulford expects the new normal for Uncommon Feasts when the statewide restrictions are lifted will consist of limiting the number of people who can sit down to eat and seating fewer people to a table to allow for more social distancing.
People will still be able to sit down and eat, Mulford said, but there won’t be people dining side-by-side. It would be a big change for the restaurant, she said, as the cafe’s entire set-up was for people to sit communally.
“(We’ve been) reconfiguring the space,” said Mulford. “I don’t think we’ll be going back to where we were for quite awhile.”
Mulford said virus restrictions have completely altered and affected her business, but she credits the support of the community and some creative offerings with helping to keep them afloat. Like many other restaurants, Uncommon Feasts has switched to takeout and delivery only.
“We’re definitely seeing less customers,” said Mulford. “What we have done is we work with a handful of local farmers. We’ve been able to have produce which we’re able to offer our customers, which has been very popular. It’s helping us out and helping the farmers because they’ve been next in line impacted by all the restaurant closures.”
She said the restaurant, which includes an event space, has also kept its connections to local artists. There aren’t on-site performances, but virtual ones have been streamed on Facebook and Instagram during the closure.
The dip in business has resulted in a round of layoffs, but Mulford said she hopes to hire back the three people who were laid off as soon as possible. She applied for an SBA loan on Monday after missing out on the first round of funding.
“I think we’ve had a lot of support from the community (who) are invested in just us being here and they buy from us regularly,” said Mulford. “That has been amazing, but we’re definitely down. We’re not bringing in what we were bringing in before. Our mode right now is to keep it going, keep our bills paid, and keep open until we know what the next phase is going to look like and we’re able to do that.”