The Pandemic Isn’t Over
But America sure seems over it. We’re over it. The masks, the kids, the Lysol. Over it. The tragic hair, the diminished hygiene, the endless construction next door, the Zoom meetings from hell, the mind games with the unemployment office, the celibacy, the short tempers and long evenings, the looking forward to the mail, the feeling guilty about the mail carrier working double time, the corporate compassion pushing products we didn’t need even before the world went funky and febrile. The now-more-than-everness, the president-said-whatness. Over it. Does 99.1 count as a fever? Over it. Some of us have reached the outskirts of Netflix, and we’re over it. Some of us can’t make rent; over it. And so, we are deciding to have a summer after all, it seems. A summer of playing freely, of living dangerously. One hundred thousand dead, 40.8 million jobless claims. Not past it, but over it. We can’t keep fighting the virus from our living room,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), clearly over it, said Wednesday
As States Reopen, Restaurants Proceed with Caution
Slowly returning diners and government limits on dine-in service are making for a hesitant comeback. The more states open, the more wary restaurants seem to have become. As of May 17, 20% of restaurateurs said they planned to take a “wait-and-see” approach to opening for dine-in, according to Technomic. That was up from 12% earlier in May. Another 20% said they’d open as soon as they were allowed to, down from 25% earlier in the month. One reason for the increasing caution, Technomic said, could be the regulatory hurdles that accompany reopening, such as capacity limits and strict cleaning and sanitizing guidelines.
The Drink of the Spring
Is anything in a to-go cup. That’s because the drink of the season happens to be anything in a to-go cup — much like the one that I, on a recent Wednesday, found myself holding during a walk through my Upper East Side neighborhood. I’m not a teenager trying to sneak alcohol into the movies. Nor am I a spring breaker trying to discreetly drink on the beach. I’m just a New Yorker trying to escape the walls of her apartment and the anxiety taking over her brain in a pandemic world. Bars and restaurants may have temporarily shuttered their doors in the city, but their windows have, of late, been open for business. New York is one of many states that have temporarily lifted or relaxed restrictions on selling to-go cocktails to help these struggling businesses survive.
Major Cities Plan for Outdoor Dining
As restaurants reopen for dining-in. Restaurant owners agree that the concept of limited dining capacity is simply not sustainable. Their businesses rely on volume of customers and frequent turnover. So, cities have stepped in. As diners eagerly await being seated at eateries in person once again — even if it means sitting six feet apart — cities have stepped up plans to support the hard-hit industry and are clearing a path for potential success. Across the U.S., many states have started to ease restrictions to allow restaurants to reopen and local municipalities have engineered new measures for expansive outdoor seating.
Did You Know?
The CDC issues interim guidance for bars and restaurants. This guidance provides considerations for businesses in the food service industry (e.g., restaurants and bars) on ways to maintain healthy business operations and a safe and healthy work environment for employees, while reducing the risk of COVID-19 spread for both employees and customers. Employers should follow applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)external icon and CDC guidance for businesses to plan and respond to COVID-19. All decisions about implementing these recommendations should be made in collaboration with local health officials and other state and local authorities who can help assess the current level of mitigation needed based on levels of COVID-19 community transmission and the capacities of the local public health and healthcare systems. CDC is releasing this interim guidance, laid out in a series of three steps, to inform a gradual scale up of activities towards pre-COVID-19 operating practices.
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Employee Tip
The latest on the next coronavirus lifeline. Congress has provided a lifeline for millions of Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, providing a boost to incomes via one-time direct payments and implementing a range of other emergency programs to prevent more widespread financial hardship, joblessness and hunger. As states continue to reopen and Congress considers the contours of a next coronavirus relief package, many of the unprecedented steps taken to help businesses and consumers weather the pandemic and economic shutdown are set to expire, creating uncertainty for those who have benefited — and for the economy overall
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Daily Alerts
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Thank you and remember all of the “Restaurant Industry Alerts” and “Thursday Restaurant Rap” interviews can be found at www.123bsc.com/news/. We intend to continue to keep you informed as we all look for an end to this crisis.
How to market your restaurant for sale during the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, it will be challenging to market and sell businesses that have temporarily been shuttered during the pandemic, because valuations are based on historical financial data. However, whether you choose to reopen your business or not, owners can still position them for sale. So, what should you do if you want to sell in the next 6 – 12 months? Contact a good business broker that specializes in the sale of hospitality real estate and businesses. Bielat Santore & Company, Allenhurst, NJ has been brokering such sales for over 40 years and will be able to help you come up with flexible deal structures and capital sources to make a sale possible; call for a free consultation – 732.531.4200.
