It will be difficult for restaurants to map out vaccines. But they are happy to do it

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new rule on Tuesday: Starting this month, whether you want to eat indoors at a restaurant, go to a gym, or visit an entertainment venue. indoors, you must show proof of vaccination by flashing your vaccination record or a city or state mobile application. Same thing if you want to work in one of these places. The city will start enforcing the rule in September.

Tuesday’s announcement could put New York restaurants in a tight spot. After a brutal year, restaurant traffic began to rebound this spring when people started getting vaccinated and restrictions on indoor dining were lifted. The new rule means restaurants will have to enforce another set of pandemic restrictions. About 66% of adults who live in the city are fully immunized, according to city data. Including children, this number drops to 55%.

Erin Bellard, owner of the e’s Bar in Manhattan, said she thought the vaccine requirement was the right decision.

“The worst thing for the hospitality industry would be if we had to go back to limited occupancy or be closed again,” she said. “So, as tough as the vaccine mandate is for us, it’s always better than that. That’s why at the end of the day, I think that’s the way to go.”

“I am concerned that part of our clientele is alienated,” she said. “I’m nervous for my business,” she said, adding that July was the first month e’s Bar had sales similar to 2019.

“Now, without training, our staff members are expected to check the immunization status of every guest who wishes to eat inside the facility,” said Larry Lynch, senior vice president of science and industry for the group. “When the mask warrants across the country were put in place, catering workers suffered a terrible reaction when enforcing these rules,” he said, adding that he hoped that the city ​​would work with the National Restaurant Association to “ensure there is clear direction and support for our workforce.”

Bellard is not too concerned about this issue. In her bar, employees have a habit of carding people, she noted. Asking them to also check the immunization status of people will not be very different from their usual practices. And Bellard had previously demanded that employees get vaccinated, she said, so that part of the requirement did not impact.

Spread the word

Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy, agrees that the new requirements are a positive development. “Our goal is to keep people as safe as possible,” she said. “And I think that’s the right way to do it.”

Cohen, who began asking customers for proof of vaccination on her own this week, believes the city’s requirement will make it easier for customers to cooperate. “It takes the responsibility… away from the business,” she said. “Yes, we always have to ask for it. But people know they’re going to have to show it.”

Cohen believes the new regulations will be easier to implement than the Mask Mandate. “You would ask people to wear their masks and they would look at you like you made up this law,” she said. With vaccination status, you ask for it once. With a mask, you may have to ask customers to remove it several times. And when they do, they might not keep it, or they might wear it incorrectly. It should be a simpler process.

Still, Cohen has some concerns. “What worries me… is that the word is not going to get out fast enough,” she said. Without a strong communication campaign, some people might show up unprepared. Fortunately, she always has an outdoor space and can direct holdouts or people unaware of these places. “But it’s a risk I’m willing to take too, if we lose money,” she said.

“Health and safety above all” 7

Tren’ness Woods-Black, vice president of communications and strategic partnerships at Harlem Sylvia’s soul food restaurant, said restaurants “would never want to control someone’s personal decision … but when it comes to a matter of health and safety, health and safety comes first. ” Woods-Black has lost loved ones to Covid-19. Knowing that employees and customers entering the restaurant need to be vaccinated “gives us a great sense of comfort.”

Woods-Black expects implementation to be a challenge. “Is it going to be easy? No,” she said. “But guess what, it’s better than having freezer trucks lined up again, floating hospitals and the general trauma that comes with being locked up.”

The city plans to provide resources to restaurants to help them comply with the new rule, said Mitch Schwartz, director of rapid response and deputy press secretary in the mayor’s office. He added that there would be more to say in the coming weeks. The city will begin inspections and enforcement of the rule on September 13.

Woods-Black, who is also a board member of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, which represents thousands of bars and restaurants, said the city’s support would be helpful. “It’s going to take a lot of dialogue,” she said. “And a lot of people get together and work together.”