Restaurateurs determining how and when to reopen their establishments won’t have to do it alone, thanks to a recent email chain established by a small cadre of local restaurateurs.
Jeff Good, a Northside restaurant owner, said the chain was set up the week after spring break, when eateries began closing their doors in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The initial core of owners got together in person in mid March to discuss the closures, and they quickly decided to take it to the internet for future meetings.
“We took an email list and added people,” Good said. “It started as owners having a conversation about ‘how did you do this? Why did you do this?’” he said. “It was about managing the unemployment cycle initially and making sure employees would be taken care of, then financial matters like landlord communications, leases, and vendor bills. Then we started sharing info about the federal grants ... Now, it’s about how do you reopen?”
Today, the group connects about two-dozen owners, all of whom have been working with each other to navigate the pandemic.
“We have a big Zoom call set this week to talk about how to reopen,” he said. “This is the big question. How does a restaurant reopen? There are so many ramifications. It’s much more than taking tables out and making the dining area less populated.”
On March 18, restaurants in the capital city were ordered by Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba to close their doors, except for delivery and carry out only. Gov. Tate Reeves issued a similar order the following week for the entire state.
More strict shelter-in-place orders followed in early April, with the state beginning to lift some restrictions by the end of the month.
For retailers, reopening means reducing the number of people allowed in stores at a certain time.
Good said reopening dining rooms, though, won’t be as simple.
“What we haven’t figured out is whether patrons will be eating out of disposable dishes for a while,” he said. “If so, what needs to be done with them when people are through? The wait person bringing food doesn’t need to handle dirty dishes too.
“That’s why having a group like this is helpful because we can bounce these ideas around,” Good said.
The support is needed, with restaurants being hit especially hard by the pandemic. Nationally, 40 percent of restaurants are closed entirely, because curbside pickup and delivery is not an option.
An idea Good picked up through the email chain has helped him and other restaurants continue to reach customers even while shelter-at-home orders are in place.
That idea is to coordinate with homeowner associations (HOAs) to have neighborhood delivery nights.
Restaurants will work with HOAs to assemble orders, and on a pre-determined night take the orders to the neighborhood for residents to pick up.
“Other restaurants have started doing this as well,” Good said. “Five weeks ago, I would have never done this. The new normal is how do I get to you, as opposed to how do you get to me.
