Bartender making drinks
Most of them knew it was coming. With the case counts on the rise, many restaurant and bar owners felt that it was only a matter of time before the state shut them down again.
On Monday the rumors started, on Tuesday a lot of them got confirmation from officials, and then last night the shoe fell: The state of Minnesota has closed all restaurants and bars (and pool halls and bowling alleys) for at least 4 weeks. Again takeout and delivery are allowed.
Some restaurants had started closing indoor service before being told they'd have to. Grand Cafe, Colita and Martina all posted on Monday that due to the spike in cases, that they would be moving to takeout only. Alma had done so months before, feeling that November would be hard to manage.
Steph Shimp of Blue Plate is cautiously optimistic, "It was another major gut punch after months of investment and innovation. But we are survivors. We will do it in the Blue Plate spirit of doing the best for our guests and employees. We're Minnesota's comfort food leader, so we'll offer the greatest takeout comfort food while people stay safe at home and don't have to cook."
Dara Beevas, whose family is behind Pimento Kitchen tweeted out: "The restrictions on bars & restaurants will be hard on our family. Like really hard. But it would be harder if one or both of us didn’t survive COVID-19 or a member of our team succumbed to this. Our governor did the right thing. Lives matters more than money. Stay safe peeps."
But not everyone is feeling those feels. Brent Frederick of Jester Concepts is really frustrated. They had just spend thousands of dollars on plastic dividers between booths for all their restaurants, and had installed some serious air filtration tech that has proven to mitigate spread.
"We are investing and doing all the right things to keep people safe, and they pulled the rug out from under us. The data is not showing restaurants to be the problem. I think the hardest part is that they can't control private gatherings, which are the problem, so they need to control something that is public. But this might be the nail in the coffin, as closing restaurants might just push people to gather at home more," Frederick told me on the phone.
"I've had to furlough all of my hourlies, twice. That's 150 people and it feels awful." Frederick said that business had been trending up, that people had been trusting the safety protocols and returning, until last week. He and other restaurant owners noticed a sharp decline in business when the first round of new rules were announced. "Consumer confidence just vanished."
Here's a radical thought: if you want to stop people from gathering at home, and need to make a public move to affect that, maybe it's time to close the liquor stores? Maybe we ONLY allow restaurants and bars to sell alcohol with takeout, that would save the restos and curb the keggers and wine parties for sure. Lord knows that the liquor stores have made out like bandits during The Pandy.
But let's be clear, the politics around booze rules in this town are ridiculous and the unions will be after me for even suggesting that. Hear me now, though, there is about to be a real push for to-go alcohol sales at restaurants so gird your loins.
Some restaurants aren't coming out of this. We need to know that and face that.
Many think they might be able to hang on for a month, but are doubtful that this will only last four weeks. Others are going to do whatever they have to do, and hope to take care of their people. Tiffany's Sports Lounge in St. Paul (rock chalk!) will be having all day happy hour until the shutdown comes into affect on Friday at 10pm. All menu items will be $7.71 in tribute to their first year in business, 1971. Almost 50 years.
Cait Hurley let me know that Tiff's, her family's restaurant, will be donating all their food this weekend (Saturday, Sunday, Monday) to restaurant industry workers. "That means anyone with a restaurant paycheck gets free Tiff's food orders (4pm-8pm) on those days. Restaurant workers can call in or order online through Chow Now (pickup only). Show their paycheck at pickup. The food is on us." After that, Tiff's will go dark. They've crunched the numbers and the math doesn't add up to make takeout work. They hope by closing now that they'll be in a better position to open when it's safe.
"I just got the whites on this week for the first time since March, and I thought WOW this feels good," Russel Klein of Meritage told me. His St. Paul restaurant has been closed since the first shut down, but they had grand plans to open this week for a limited run through the holidays. Talk about timing. They've changed course and now, for the first time for them, are offering special take-and-bake meal kits (hello cassoulet) at least through next Wednesday. "After that, who knows. We had only planned on being open through New Years, so if the four weeks is really it, that would give us a few days? If it goes further, we won't re-open until April. If we can make it. That will mean that we will have not had service in Meritage for over a year. Wow."
Nearly everyone I talked with today didn't think that the four weeks would be the limit of the limits, and that there will be an extension. But most seem to feel that the reality of a vaccine coming soon would change the game. The overriding feeling is that the government needs to step up and issue another PPP or stimulus, and extend unemployment benefits for workers in order for these small businesses to survive.
Look, people are angry with the government, local and national. People are angry about the virus and its spread. People are angry at each other for not being as angry as they are about those things.
Spring could be amazing. If we can all just hunker down in our small sets of humanity, and stop the spread this winter, ease up on our healthcare workers ... we could have the BEST year next year full of restaurants and bars and people we love.
For now: go get takeout. Often.
