Many restaurants are currently hurtling toward the coronavirus cliff. The question for many is if and when they take the plunge.
M Street restaurants (Kayne Prime, Virago, Moto, Whiskey Kitchen), for example, abruptly laid off almost their entire staff Monday night. One source tells the Scene that the news was handled “very poorly,” and that management "opened the door of our main office and sent everyone home and said ‘file for unemployment.’ ”
Demand for reservations has dropped consistently over the past two weeks. According to OpenTable, an online reservations platform, week-over-week reservations dropped every day at an increasing rate, with Monday reservations down 70 percent from the week before. Randy Rayburn’s Midtown Cafe closed on Wednesday as work-from-home orders decimated his robust lunch business.
It’s a trend that mirrors what’s going on around the country.
Nationally, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality announced on Wednesday that they were laying off 2,000 employees at restaurants in New York and Washington, D.C., including iconic spots like Gramercy Tavern. In Las Vegas, most of the big-name establishments attached to casinos closed when the governor shut down gambling in the state.
Not all are quick to shutter, though, as independent restaurants and some groups attempt to take care of their staffs. Barista Parlor, for example, shuttered all of its coffee houses for 30 days, but will pay staff and continue insurance for the foreseeable future.
Some are adapting on the fly, trying to stay afloat as public health officials increasingly recommend avoiding almost all public spaces. Chef Matt Bolus of 404 Kitchen said they attempted to do a limited takeout version of their famous whole smoked fried chicken with sides, but found few takers. It can be a “tough pivot” for restaurants to turn into delivery and takeout operations after building fine-dining operations. Bolus' restaurant group, which includes Adele’s, 404 and Pemrose, has closed, while Emmy Squared remains open for takeout in the Gulch and Green Hills.
Margot McCormack, chef and owner of Margot and Marche, says the conditions are changing “hour by hour.” Tuesday night marked their third night of a to-go business at Margot using a pared-down menu of her French-inspired cuisine.
“Trying to do something that you're not known for is risky,” McCormack says. “We’re trying to do our standard repertoire of comfort food. If I can keep doing that, I can keep three or four people employed.”
It doesn’t help that the restaurant has gotten conflicting messages from state, federal and local officials.
“First it was no more than 50 people and half seating at the bar,” McCormack says. “Then Trump comes on and says no more than 10 people. And then [Councilmember] Brett Withers says he wants all restaurants to close or they’re part of the problem.”
And then add that the industry is in completely uncharted waters and, by the way, her restaurants are still cleaning up and repairing damage from the Super Tuesday tornado.
“There’s not one person in the country that can give us advice,” she says. “So that’s kind of frightening.”
Strategic Hospitality’s restaurants — including Bastion, Henrietta Red, The Catbird Seat and Merchants — have been closed while the company figures out what to do. Partner Max Goldberg says the transition is tough, because restaurateurs want to control “both the product and experience.” Delivery? That puts everything from food temperature to how and where it’s consumed completely out of their hands. They’re ramping up chef Julia Sullivan’s Party Line catering operation and launching Strategic Delivers to offer food from the Merchants, Pinewood and Paradise Park menus.
“Our goal is to take care of the people we are lucky enough to work with,” Goldberg says.
Sending employees to file for unemployment can be tough, McCormack says, because often a shift or two will net them more than they could get from the state.
“We’re just trying to eke out the little bit that we can as long as we can to keep as many people afloat.”
