Asbury Park Allows Indoor Dining and Bars
Defying State Ban. The City Council voted on Wednesday to allow indoor dining in restaurants and bars starting on Monday. The bars and restaurants must have 25 percent capacity or no more than 50 people. Officials say they’re worried about the impact of the shutdowns on businesses, noting that the Modine restaurant is shutting its doors. Gov. Phil Murphy plans to open indoor retail on Monday, but he hasn’t given a date on bars and restaurants. The reopening is effective June 15. The city says it will allow businesses to operate indoor food and beverage service with a capacity limit as outlined in Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 152 regarding indoor gatherings.
Asbury Park’s Permission of Indoor Dining
Denounced by Governor Murphy. When Stage 2 of New Jersey’s COVID-19 restart and recovery plan takes its first steps Monday, it will allow for outdoor dining and in-person retail shopping. Despite no defined date over indoor dining, the Asbury Park City Council voted Wednesday to allow for it; a decision that Governor Phil Murphy said Thursday was an example of what not to do. Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said the city took actions to reopen due to the economic toll it’s faced during the pandemic. “The actions of the Asbury Park governing body are inconsistent with my executive order,” Murphy added. “We do not have one set of rules for one town and another set of rules for another town.”
Another Shore Town Considering Public Drinking
To help establishments closed by coronavirus. The City of Cape May is set to vote on two coronavirus-related resolutions Thursday that would introduce new regulations for outdoor retail shopping and the temporary, outdoor consumption of alcohol. In resolutions placed on the city’s website ahead of a special, virtual June 11 Cape May City Council meeting, the five-person body will discuss and vote on measures that will grant temporary outdoor retail plans as well as decide between two outdoor alcohol consumption proposals.
The Number One Problem Plaguing Restaurants
As they try to reopen. As a diner, you may have waited all through shutdown to make a restaurant reservation. You were delighted when your state’s governor says they could begin patio or dining room service. And still, the place where you want to eat hasn’t reopened — and it may even have announced it isn’t coming back. What’s the main reason that’s hampering places from coming back to life? In a word: cash. “The big thing for us is cash flow,” says Michael Gulotta, the James Beard Award-finalist chef and owner of Maypop and MoPho in New Orleans. “It’s really frustrating. A lot of us thought we’d be busier (doing carryout and delivery), and we’re not.”
Interrupting the COVID-19 Business Interruption
Now what? There are 25 million small businesses in the U.S., 30 million questions regarding what comes next after COVID-19, and now, how do other risk outcomes like damage from rioting and vandalism dovetail with COVID issues? Let’s add, how do we prepare for future pandemics and concurrent perils? Communicate with your insurance broker about your plans to reopen. There may be updated coverages, updated policy wording or endorsements, carrier communications or notices of premium rebates of which you should be aware. An important requirement for most policies is that the insured notify the carrier if there are any material changes to how the insured business operates (I’ll bet you forgot to tell them you were closed, right?)
What Will a More Remote Workforce Do to Restaurants?
This has a bigger impact on restaurants than you think. Americans have gradually returned to normal as more states reopen their economies, allowing more in-restaurant dining and more events and other functions. A few more people are also returning to their work. But plenty of employees are still at home. Companies such as Google and Twitter have said employees can stay at home this year and beyond. In April, more than half of employees said they expect to work at home more often even when restrictions are lifted, according to Gallup. A number of experts expect more employees to work from home once the quarantine is over. A larger number of telecommuting consumers could certainly upend many chains’ long-held real estate strategies. Chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s have been developed based on consumers’ commuting patterns.
Did You Know?
“Restaurant Rap” continues with exclusive restaurant industry interviews. Today’s “Restaurant Rap” features an interview with real estate developer and owner/operator of the Beach Haus Brewery, Belmar, New Jersey; Christopher McCallion. After a long-standing and successful career in the energy and real estate marketplaces, Chris McCallion decided to build and open a brewery in Belmar. Tune in as he describes the challenges he has faced during the pandemic and how his business has pivoted to survive. This series appears each Thursday within the company’s Restaurant Industry Alert daily bulletins. It presents recorded virtual video interviews with local restauranteurs and other industry professionals, many of whom are the firm’s clients, customers, and associates.
All previously recorded interviews can also be found at our website www.123bsc.com/news/ and on at https://vimeo.com/bielatsantore.
Employee Tip
Looking for a job? Coronavirus-related layoffs expanding roles for freelancers in these hot sectors. For those seeking work amid the coronavirus pandemic, one of the most sought-after jobs is independent professional. With the unemployment rate at 13.5% and a rapidly changing labor market, hiring managers are accelerating the use of freelancers, according to the annual Future of the Workforce Report from jobs platform Upwork. The survey finds that 45% of hiring managers expect freezes on new staff, while 39% expect layoffs to continue in the coming months. At the same time, close to three-quarters (73%) of hiring managers are looking to maintain or expand their hiring of independent professionals, with a typical employment length of about four months. Nearly half of all hiring managers surveyed said that they are now more likely to use these freelancers as a result of Covid-19.
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.
Get your copy of the Restaurant Reopening Playbook. Bielat Santore & Company has formed a task force comprised of multi-unit restaurant operators to collaborate on ideas, procedures, strategies and goals as they relate to the preparation for and the reopening of restaurants and other hospitality-based businesses in New Jersey. The Mission of this “task force” is to provide a collaboration of knowledge, expertise and innovative thinking from some of the industry’s most reputable restaurant operators, that will yield a strategy for all independent restauranteurs to follow, assisting all in the transition back to “business as normal.” No one person will have all the answers, as there are so many things to consider. Safety is an important concern, but just as important is the entertainment aspect of the business. Many customers are not going to want to be eating out without the social benefits that restaurants and bars provide. Furthermore, many will not be interested in wearing masks or having their temperatures taken. Restaurants are not going to be profitable having to operate with a dining room that is one third empty. We need to work together not merely for survival, but for success!
