With restrictions extended into January, here’s how restaurants will continue to suffer
Around 2,500 restaurants have permanently closed across Washington state during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the state hospitality association fears thousands more will close in the coming weeks as tight restrictions remain in place.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday, Dec. 8, that current restrictions, including restaurants remaining closed to indoor dining, will be extended until Monday, Jan. 4.
The extension of the restrictions into January means that thousands of restaurants will continue to suffer and that many more employees will be not working during the holidays, said Anthony Anton, CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association, during a press briefing following Inslee’s announcement.
“This announcement (of the restriction extension) is disappointing; I’m beyond frustrated,” said Anton, adding that shutting down indoor dining has closed off a safe, regulated outlet for the public and that people instead are spreading COVID-19 through less-safe social gatherings.
The estimation of around 2,500 permanent restaurant closures across the state between March and September comes from the association, which in August and September called and checked on every single eating establishment across the state.
Coffee and dessert shops have lost the most, at nearly 600, followed by Asian and American restaurants, each with more than 420 closures.
King County has suffered the most in terms of numbers, with more than 1,000 restaurants confirmed by the trade group as permanently closed. Snohomish and Pierce counties each have more than 200 confirmed closures.
In Whatcom County, the association estimates 81 eating establishments have closed between March and September; in Bellingham the total closures is estimated to be 48 during that time period.
Tacoma has lost more than twice that number, second only to Seattle, where more than 600 have closed.
Anton noted that across the state, 90% of the closures during that six-month period were independent restaurants and cafes.
During his remarks, Inslee said that it is currently not safe to have people eating in front of each other in an indoor setting while cases continue to spike across Washington state. Anton countered in the Tuesday afternoon briefing that cases have spiked despite restaurants being closed to indoor seating.
“When you track back, it’s not coming from restaurants,” Anton said.
As the restrictions remain into January, restaurants continue to find ways to adjust through takeout, delivery and outdoor seating options.
At Skylark’s Hidden Cafe in Bellingham’s Fairhaven neighborhood, owner Brad Haggen said they are tweaking those options and have begun ramping up special takeout meals for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
“This was certainly a difficult time to get into the restaurant business, and it remains to be seen if we can make it through several more months of indoor dining closures,” Haggen said. “But we are not ready to give up yet. We have great vendors, landlord, and especially our staff and guests that are all doing what they can to help us through these difficult times.”
Even restaurants that have held off on welcoming guests back for in-person dining since March will feel the brunt of the extension on indoor dining and activities, said Ted Kenney, owner of Galanga Thai in downtown Tacoma.
“Closing the economy affects everybody,” he said, pointing to higher unemployment. His family restaurant will stick with takeout-only until the state reopens dining rooms and, he stressed, “We’re convinced the pandemic is seriously on the decline.”
The risk to employees, customers and his family is otherwise too great, he said.
Washington restaurant relief
Targeted relief efforts for the hospitality industry have so far stalled in Congress, with the House passing the RESTAURANTS Act, a $120 billion package that would send money to independent restaurants, catering companies and related businesses. A competing Senate measure includes larger chains, which already drew ire during the initial roll-out of the Paycheck Protection Program last spring.
Inslee addressed this gap by adding another $50 million of relief to be directed to businesses most impacted by these current restrictions, including restaurants, bowling alleys and fitness centers. He also said the state was prepared to step up should Congress not act before pandemic unemployment expires on Dec. 26.
“We will not allow people to fall off that cliff in the state of Washington if Congress does not act,” said Inslee.
Though Anton said the additional funding is “a good start,” the state already has received some 16,000 applications for the $50 million announced last month.
Restaurant owners also fear one more thing: being told they can reopen, perhaps in January, only to be ordered to shut down for a third time in 12 months.
Chad Mackay, the CEO of Fire & Vine Hospitality, told employees of his several restaurants in Washington last month they would return to work no earlier than late January 2021.
“I’m just trying to be a realist,” he said.
Anton said that for customers, the key is to not give up and to continue ordering takeout or gift cards from their favorite restaurants.
“We are really struggling right now,” he said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "With restrictions extended into January, here’s how restaurants will continue to suffer."
