Reopening is a dicey proposition
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- May 9, 2020
- 969
We’ve all been living on home-cooked, freezer-scavenged meals and carryout for more than a month now. The separation from our favorite restaurants was sudden and immediate, and I think we’re chomping at the bit for Gov. Mike DeWine to give the all-clear for restaurants to reopen so we can get back to table service and having a nice meal with friends. Is that too much to ask? Sharing a pile of wings and small talk?
But allowing restaurants and for that matter salons and gyms to reopen is not going to be a simple before/after scenario. It most certainly won’t look like what we knew as recently as January of this year for a long time.
Let’s say, for example, the all-clear is marked at Saturday, May 23. Restaurants and bars, hair salons, nail salons, and such are free to do business on a stringent, low-density basis — say 25 percent of normal capacity. No such announcement has been made, mind you. This date is entirely my invention.
In terms of restaurants, enough staff who are comfortable with the risk have to be assembled. Restaurant kitchens, even if spacious, which few are, are close-quarter affairs, which is why so many employees of such places quickly feel like their co-workers are like family. It’s elbow to elbow.
On a line in front of the range, you can’t avoid being less than a foot apart, and pass-by encounters are so intimate and unavoidable that people call out their location constantly. “Hot behind! Sharp behind!”
Waitstaff cannot serve customers from 6 feet away, and though they may wear masks, people who are eating cannot. Dirty dishes from people of unknown health status must be cleared. Not everyone is willing to take those kinds of risks as the number of COVID-19 cases statewide continues to rise.
Then there are customers.
In the world of computers, there are people known as “early adopters.” When new technology is released, they jump on it. New software or updates? Early adopters want to be the first to try it out and deal with the bugs and crashes just to be first.
In the brick and mortar world of restaurants, salons and gymnasiums, being an early adopter after a statewide reopening can mean the difference between a good meal, a good workout or fantastic hairdo and a serious illness.
It’s doubtful a lot of people will be so anxious for their favorite wings, fries and beer that they’re willing to put themselves and their families, friends and co-workers in danger.
I think even after restaurants are open, people will stay home for a while. Maybe a long while — it’s a substantial risk for all concerned.
It’s going to take time, no matter when the floodgates are officially opened, to assemble kitchen staffs responsibly and work out new, extreme methods of keeping everyone safe, which will slow down wait times. It will take time to rearrange seating to allow for continued social distancing, to rejigger supply chains and menus, and to adapt to changing customer needs.
The number of virus cases is clearly rising in quickly opened states. Our area has managed to keep the number of cases well below the early fearful estimates through hard work and the cooperation of residents.
Reopening close-quarter businesses is going to be a dicey proposition with a steep learning curve. The first thing we’ll need to get open is our minds, as we all navigate the coming months together. If ever there was a time to err on the side of caution, this is it.
Keep raiding your mom’s recipe card file, the church lady’s aid cookbooks and the Pinterest ideas. Keep snatching up flour and yeast when you find them and make breads at home. Keep scouring the online menus for area eateries and keep stocking up on wine and snacks.
The bigwigs might say it’s OK to go get a burger at your favorite restaurant, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good personal choice for you or your family. Be prepared for everyone, employees and customers alike, to be scared for a while.