New Jersey Restaurants Ready to Welcome Customers
For outdoor dining starting Monday. Restaurants in New Jersey are getting ready to welcome customers for outdoor dining when the state enters Phase 2 on Monday. From the curbside crush to forward thinking, socially distant al fresco dining. “All guest-facing staff will be wearing masks,” said Marilou Halvorsen, with the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association. “Even before the pandemic, outside of health care, nobody does sanitation like the restaurant industry.” Halvorsen says outdoor dining’s opening day is a long time coming, but there are definitely some nerves as they find the new way forward. “One of my members said it’s almost like opening a brand-new restaurant because of the different struggles. You know, you’re setting up basically your restaurant in a parking lot or on a sidewalk,” she said.
These NJ Restaurants Are Opening for Outdoor Dining
Eateries are allowed to reopen for outdoor dining starting June 15. This doesn’t mean every restaurant with a patio will open with smiling (masked) waiters ready to take your drink order, but many restaurants with some capacity for outdoor seating are using the opportunity to slowly begin the on-site reopening process. Of course, even partial on-location reopening isn’t a full fix for many struggling restaurants. Prior to the relaxing of restrictions, some restaurants had even adopted a “car hop” style. All restaurants are still subject to basic rules of social distancing, meaning staff must wear masks, and tables must be at least six feet apart (so space is limited). Groups of diners can be no larger than eight people. That said, here is a list of restaurants NJ restaurants opening for outdoor dining next week. We’ll be updating it on an ongoing basis.
As Diners Flock to Delivery Apps, Restaurants Fear for Their Future
While the apps say they are saving them in the pandemic, many restaurateurs say the opposite. Before the coronavirus lockdowns, Matt Majesky didn’t take much notice of the fees that Grubhub and Uber Eats charged him every time they processed an order for his restaurant, Pierogi Mountain. But once the lockdowns began, the apps became essentially the only source of business for the barroom restaurant he ran with a partner, Charlie Greene, in Columbus, Ohio. That was when the fees to the delivery companies turned into the restaurant’s single largest cost — more than what it paid for food or labor. Pierogi Mountain’s primary delivery company, Grubhub, took more than 40 percent from the average order, Mr. Majesky’s Grubhub statements show. That flipped his restaurant from almost breaking even to plunging deeply into the red. In late April, Pierogi Mountain shut down.
One Type of Restaurant
That’s safer than others. Tables six feet apart, waiters in masks and gloves, paper disposable menus and other safety precautions are waiting for you if you dine-in at restaurants. You can’t dine with more than a certain number of people and many places will seat you outside. It’s safe to say dining because of the pandemic is a whole new experience. But one type of restaurant hasn’t had to change much — food trucks. Why? First of all, food trucks are safe because you have to order food to go. There’s limited contact between customers and servers. There’s usually a bit of a shield between the two, as well, in the form of a window. Food Trucks don’t have many cooks (since they can only fit so many people inside the vehicle at one time), so there are not as many people handling your food. The trucks can also easily space themselves six feet from other trucks or buildings to properly social distance. Finally, food trucks are safe because you easily can take your food anywhere.
85% of Independent Restaurants May Go Out of Business by the End Of 2020
According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition. As many as 85% of independent restaurants may be forced out of business by the end of the year, according to a new report commissioned by the Independent Restaurant Coalition. The report, which was conducted by consulting company Compass Lexecon, outlines the threats facing independent restaurants as the pandemic continues to affect business. Although the restaurant industry as a whole has suffered major losses, independent restaurants like mom-and-pop diners, neighborhood Thai joints, and fine dining staples, are much more at risk than fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks. Independents, which comprise 70% of all restaurants, rely much more heavily on dine-in revenue and don’t have the corporate resources that make some chains so resilient in the face of disaster.
Did You Know?
The oldest restaurant in every state. While the US is nowhere near as old as many other countries in the world, there’s still plenty of history to be found, especially when it comes to food. From inns and taverns that have been around since the Revolutionary War to restaurants that were prominent watering holes in the days of the Wild West, every state has a unique story regarding its oldest restaurant. As restaurants nationwide are required to shift their business practices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s more important now than ever before to support these veritable American landmarks.
Employee Tip
Wanted: Servers who can lift 100 pounds. As states reopened after coronavirus lockdowns, millions of Americans returned to work in May. Many found their hours were cut, their pay was reduced, and their job descriptions had changed — sometimes beyond all recognition. The job requirements for the maintenance position are outrageous. We must be able to lift 100 pounds or more. Also, the position requires extensive relevant experience, or training and skills such as replacing and repairing electrical and plumbing fixtures, operating power tools and cleaning equipment, and performing major janitorial duties. They have given us only one or two days to respond to this offer.
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!
