Workers in Greenfield are reportedly itching to get back to normal. Even if it’s a new normal.
Some Massachusetts restaurants remained open for takeout or delivery service after Gov. Charlie Baker ordered dining rooms closed starting in mid-March, but others elected to temporarily shut down altogether. Some of these restaurants are preparing to reopen for permitted service and rehire some laid-off workers.
After roughly six weeks of being closed in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, Tito’s Taqueria at 145 Federal St. re-opened Monday.
The location’s current hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Orders can be placed online at titostaqueria.com, through the Tito’s Taqueria app, or in person at the taco trailer next to the restaurant.
“Something that’s cool is that we are fortunate to have an extra food truck,” said owner Tito Garza. “Nothing will be done indoors aside from cooking online orders.”
Garza said employees will mark a 6-foot distance from the food truck so customers can practice social distancing while ordering or waiting for food. Other precautions will include increased cleaning and sanitation methods. Employees will be required to put on gloves and a mask or other face covering when they arrive at work. Garza said they have washable cloth masks, as well as disposable masks available for workers.
Both Tito’s Taqueria locations in Greenfield and Brattleboro, Vt., had been closed since mid-March. Garza said it was difficult to shut the doors, but he felt it was important to be particularly cautious. He reopened the Brattleboro location last week and all orders have been placed online.
According to Garza, the response was “a little overwhelming” when orders flooded in, but he recognized this was “a good problem to have.” While the restaurant is usually staffed by numerous employees working 15 hours each week, Garza said he is rehiring a smaller number of employees who will instead work 40 hours per week, so as to limit the number of people interacting with one another.
Garza said that, when considering which employees to rehire, he asked employees if members of their households were considered to be at high risk for COVID-19; if the answer was yes, they were encouraged to continue practicing ongoing health safety measures. He also asked about their need for income.
“What’s cool is we had team members who are making more at home collecting (unemployment), and they still chose to come back,” Garza said. “We feel so grateful. … It’s super humbling.”
Garza said he was fortunate to focus on when, not if, he could re-open. He said the company has practiced financial discipline and has managed to keep overhead low. He also sympathizes with other small businesses facing more uncertainty around their ability to reopen.
Alden Booth, owner of The People’s Pint and one of its managers, said his restaurant at 24 Federal St. closed a few days before the governor’s orders. He said he initially thought dining rooms would be closed two or three weeks. Virtually all employees have been laid off and gone on unemployment.
Booth explained a skeleton crew of about six people has returned to work for takeout service, with a limited menu.
“We want to start slowly and figure out how to do this before we get too crazy with it,” he said. “It’s not a bad way to get things going again, so let’s start things easy.”
According to thepeoplespint.com, the restaurant will operate from 4 to 7:30 p.m. every day and orders can be placed by calling 413-773-0333 between 3:30 and 7. Cash will not be accepted. Customers will be told an approximate pickup time and are asked to wait in their vehicles so employees can bring out their order. It is recommended that customers park at Greenfield Savings Bank, across the street. There is a 15 percent discount for health care workers and first responders.
To ensure safety, Booth said the entire restaurant interior will regularly be wiped with disinfectant.
Owner Jim Zaccara said Hope & Olive, which closed on March 15, will open for a takeout Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday and regular takeout service Thursday through Sunday starting May 14. People can pre-order the brunch at hopeandolive.com.
“We’re not sure how that’s going to work,” Zaccara said, adding the eatery at 44 Hope St. will likely post a menu online and change it weekly.
Four or five of Hope & Olive’s 32 employees will return for takeout service.
“A lot of people are in this purgatory,” Zaccara said. “That uncertainty is unnerving and causes a lot of anxiety. The staff, I think, is happy to get back to some sense of normalcy.”
Magpie, a woodfired pizzeria at 21 Bank Row, is accepting phone and online orders for contactless pickup from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday through Monday. The phone number is 413-475-3570 and orders can be placed at bit.ly/2A5ALs1.
Outside of the food service industry, Village Shops Laundromat at 63 French King Highway plans to reopen Thursday. Owner Jack Dunphy said the laundromat is the only one in the area with a system that injects ozone into every wash cycle to kill all bacteria and viruses.
Although listed as an essential business under Gov. Baker’s executive order and allowed to remain open, the location closed on March 24 so employees could stay home. Dunphy said this hurt his bottom line, but it was better than letting anyone get sick.
He said he has taken steps to maximize safety, including posting signs asking people to remain the recommended 6 feet apart, keeping doors open to allow for better air flow and requesting that people wait in their vehicles while their clothing is being washed and to fold their items at home. A third picnic table has been added to encourage people to wait outside.
Dunphy also said the business will close an hour earlier (at 9 p.m.) for extra cleaning, and disinfectant spray will be left out for customer use.
The other location, Riverside Laundromat inside the Orange Innovation Center at 131 West Main St. in Orange, has remained open because it has a cleaning person on site. That laundromat also reduced its hours to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to coincide with staff.