Scrambling to adapt to new state rules intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Franklin County restaurants are shutting down their dine-in services and attempting to rely entirely on takeout and delivery.
The new rules, ordered by the governor Sunday, require all dine-in restaurants to close for the next three weeks, and allow only takeout, delivery, grocery stores and pharmacies to operate. The rules go into effect Tuesday and continue through April 5.
Restaurants already with takeout are re-orienting to function without dine-in. Others that normally do only dine-in are being forced to re-arrange their entire businesses, or risk going under.
“This is a drastic adaptation. But we’ve got to survive,” said Ashley Arthur, the owner and chef of the Five Eyed Fox, in Turners Falls.
Arthur said she expects to start take-out service next week, probably with a modified menu of dishes that will travel well. Orders and payments will be handled entirely by phone, so as to minimize contact.
At Hope & Olive in Greenfield, co-owner Jim Zacara expected to boost take-out services but said the restaurant did not have clear plans yet.
“We can’t transform from what we are to a take-out operation overnight,” Zacara said.
Even if Hope & Olive’s takeout business increases, he said, “it’s really not going to make a big difference in terms of the incredible amount of lost income for the staff. The damage from that will be pretty severe.”
Even for restaurants that normally do a lot of take-out business, the ban is expected to have a significant impact.
Mesa Verde, in Greenfield, has dine-in services, but normally does a significant amount of take-out business, too, said owner Amy McMahan. On Monday, dine-in services had been completely stopped, and staff had been reduced to a “skeleton crew,” McMahan said.
“I think everybody is changing their habits now,” McMahan said. “This virus has taught me that I know nothing.”
Lillian Do, owner of New Fortune in Greenfield, plans on offering curb service, extending its delivery radius and lowering the minimum order to $10.
“We have a lot of overhead and need to pay rent,” she said. “We have to take it one day at a time.”
Even before the state’s new ban was announced Sunday night, Hillside Pizza had been expecting to convert to takeout only, said co-owner Kim Lindner.
This week, Hillside Pizza’s locations in Bernardston, Deerfield and Hadley are becoming takeout only, she said. The Bernardston location, which has the largest dine-in space, will probably be affected most severely, she said.
Hillside Pizza will probably expand its hours from six days a week to seven, Lindner said, “just to put the blanket out there for as much business as possible.”
Others were hit less hard. Village Pizza in Greenfield had closed its dining section, but by Monday afternoon business was still pretty normal, said manager Petroula Balis.
“People still have to eat,” said George Balis, who works at Village Pizza. “Our lunch time is all the people who work in this area. If they’re working, we’re working.”
Bonnie B’s Country Kitchen in Greenfield had already been doing takeout, and was considering adding a delivery service, said manager Bonnie Brown. Now, the new coronavirus rules have forced her hand: wait staff are now doing deliveries.
“We didn’t have the staff or the time. Now, I’ve got the time,” she said.
Still, business has been affected. Sales this weekend were half of what they normally are, Brown said.
“I look at it this way: people still have to eat,” she said. “People know, if anywhere is open, Bonnie B’s is open. I can’t let this little virus stop me from being open.”
Jennifer Howard, who in August opened Leo’s Table in South Deerfield, decided to close her dining room two days ago following Sunday brunch (the first ever at her new restaurant) and is now focusing on take-out business.
“As of now, we’re working to maintain and improve our food-delivery system,” she said. “My priority is to make sure our employees still have a job.”
Howard said she has never seen anything like this situation in all her years in the culinary world, and most restaurant owners face the same difficulty.
“It’s definitely uncharted territory for all of us,” she said.
Howard also operates Food for Strength, a healthy meal delivery service she started in 2014. This business will see a change because the normal pickup locations are studio gyms, which are affected by the ban of crowds of more than 25 people. She said orders can be picked up at Leo’s Table at 55 North Main St. Food for Strength has seen a spike in sales because people “are stocking up their freezers.”
Cheryl Johnson, kitchen manager at Taylor’s Tavern and Restaurant in Greenfield, said the Main Street staple will remain open for takeout for as long as possible.
“We’re willing to keep our doors open as long as they’ll let us,” she said.
Some employees have been laid off, Johnson said, because the eatery will need fewer dishwashers and servers. She said laying off the employees makes them eligible for unemployment benefits. She hopes to rehire these people once the restaurant has weathered the storm.
She said Taylor’s has adopted a more stringent cellphone policy, no longer permitting them to be in the kitchen or on employees’ person. The warm devices can be a breeding ground for germs and disease.
Johnson said the street-level sports bar will be closed.
Kendra Malone, the general manager at the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland, said the business is following all recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said the decision was made Saturday to voluntarily close for two weeks to protect employees. The governor’s order added a week to this plan.
Malone said the restaurant workers are maintaining a high level of hygiene and are now using a specific type of disinfectant that attacks coronavirus.
Blue Heron was open Saturday and Sunday, though Malone said there was a noticeable reduction in business, as expected.
Kristann Deacon, manager of Herrick’s Tavern in Orange, said the business her husband owns is staying open for takeout.
“We’re going to do whatever (government officials) allow us to do and do whatever they tell us to do,” she said.
Deacon said business was typical at Herrick’s over the weekend.
Howard said her customers have been kind and supportive during this difficult time and she expects most businesses to survive, though she fears many will have to go into debt to pay employees and stay in operation. She said, however, that is not in the cards for her.
“It’s way too early for us to give in,” she said.