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The announcement by Bay Area officials Friday that they would expedite the state’s new stay-at-home order means Santa Clara County restaurants have just two days before meals in. outdoors are temporarily closed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that all sectors other than retail and essential operations would be closed in areas of the state where less than 15% of intensive care unit beds are available as part of a new regional order of stay at home. But five Bay Area counties – Santa Clara, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties – and the city of Berkeley have decided to implement the new order in the coming days rather than wait until local hospitals are close to the crisis.
Santa Clara County restaurants will have to revert to takeout and delivery only from this Sunday, December 6 at 10 p.m. until January 4. San Mateo County is not participating in the Advance Order.
“We understand that closures under the state order will have a profound impact on our local businesses,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County health manager. “However, if we act quickly, we can both save lives and reduce the time these restrictions have to stay in place, allowing businesses and operations to reopen sooner.”
It’s a big blow – but not entirely surprising given the growing warnings of unprecedented levels of COVID-19 in the region – for restaurants that relied on alfresco dining to generate income, especially during vacations when their dining rooms were usually booked. for parties and corporate events. Many have invested in parklets and expansive outdoor dining facilities, especially on streets closed to traffic like University Avenue in Palo Alto, Castro Street in Mountain View, and Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park.
“Getting back to take out and delivery, it’s going to be really tough. It’s not a model we can survive on,” said Anu Bhambri, owner of Rooh on University Avenue in downtown Palo. Alto. “Without any stimulus package or any help from the government, it will be very difficult to survive.”
Rooh’s owner paid to build the restaurant grounds, Bhambri said, but she recently bought additional heaters and new tents to prepare for winter. She immediately thought of the implications for inventory at Rooh, where outdoor restaurant sales exceed take-out sales.
Patio heaters are just one of the extra costs Zareen Khan incurred for alfresco dining at his eponymous restaurants in Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Redwood City. Heaters that used to cost $ 150 are now as expensive as $ 400 and much harder to find, she said.
She is frustrated with the new restrictions, which she says penalize small businesses that have barely walked on water for eight months. She has cut prices at Zareen and feels like she is constantly advertising discounts to attract more business. On Friday, she told her employees they would start taking turns taking time off to manage the workforce due to the loss of outdoor meals.
“I ask the county to be more creative in how to control COVID,” Khan said. “Closing businesses is not a solution.”
At a press conference on Friday, Dr Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa’s health manager, said that “any type of activity that involves removing your mask to eat or drink – even if the outside is safer , even outdoors poses a risk of the spread of COVID. risk of transmission in our communities, alfresco dining is riskier than two months ago. “
Lars Smith, co-owner of State of Mind Public House in Los Altos, felt a sort of grim resilience in the face of Friday’s news. He feels better equipped to help his restaurant cope with another shutdown, having done so before. He now knows he can keep more employees than in March, when, in panic, they laid off staff at home and cut employee hours – then were overwhelmed by a surge in sales at carry.
At La Bodeguita del Medio in Palo Alto, however, co-owner Michael Ekwall realized that without alfresco dining, he will have to reduce his staff from 18 employees to around six. He is also preparing for the stay-at-home order to last beyond early January.
“It’s a challenge to have to let most of our people go indefinitely,” he said. “I don’t realistically think we’re going to bounce back and it’s going to be over on January 4. I wonder how many of my business mates are going through that time.”
Judy Kleinberg, CEO of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, predicted that there would be a surge in jobless claims following the new decision to stay at home.
“Because it’s just take out, all these waiters and bus boys and girls are going to be made redundant,” she said. “Downstream economic damage isn’t just done in restaurants. It’s the workforce that takes the brunt.”
She advocated at the county level for the relief of small businesses; the Santa Clara County Supervisory Board is due to discuss a proposed small business loan program next week as well as a cap on delivery fees that third-party platforms can charge restaurants.
Across the peninsula, the minds of local restaurateurs quickly turned to ideas to boost business, from social media posts announcing the last two days of alfresco dining this weekend to new take-out menus. Pavel Sirotin from Bevri in Palo Alto said he plans to relaunch a ghost kitchen concept he tested a few months ago and is exploring other partnerships to stay afloat.
Several owners have voiced an infamous industry refrain: Without another program of federal support, many independent restaurants will fail to endure another shutdown.
“We mainly get restrictions and closures without any help to survive,” Sirotin said.
Sirotin urged people to continue ordering takeout from local restaurants, which he recently heard called “civic responsibility.”
“This is really true. If we are to continue to eat good, interesting food … we have to come together and help independent restaurants,” he said.
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