Mandates Taking A Toll on Cove's Restaurants

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Pennsylvania restaurants on March 16 when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered restaurants in five counties to suspend in-door dining for an initial 14 days, and days later expanded the mandate to the rest of the state.

This left restaurants which were primarily dine-in establishments with only two choices: transition quickly to carry-out or close the doors.

In May, Gov. Wolf announced a three-phase threshold for reopening the state and counties who achieved the "green phase" were able to reopen restaurants with restrictions, including lowering capacity to allow for social distancing.

With limited seating, restaurants continued to struggle, but having patrons inside allowed them to see an uptick in profits for the first time in months.

Bad Timing

As the holidays approached, restaurants were looking forward to the financial boom that usually comes with the Christmas season and were hopeful of making up ground lost to the mandates.

However, just as they were gearing up for the holiday rush, hopes were dashed when the governor issued another mandate that once again closed restaurants for in-person dining beginning on Dec. 12 and ending on Jan.4, effectively taking away the lucrative holiday business that some restaurants say is their most profitable time.

Tyler Zimmerman manages Traditions Restaurant in Martinsburg. He said the timing of the second shutdown not only cost him holiday business, but also the supplies he ordered in anticipation of being busy. He said he put in a food order the day before the announcement was made.

"A lot of perishable food items and different things like that so there is a lot of waste," he said. "You are expecting to be busy and then suddenly you are told nobody can come in."

Pivoting to a strictly carry-out business when known for your dining atmosphere is not an easy task and Zimmerman said it could never make up for the loss of dine-in customers.

Before the pandemic, Zimmerman said take-out orders made up just five percent of his business but was able to raise that number to 20 percent during lockdown, leaving 80 percent of his business shut down, meaning significant staff cuts during the holiday season.

"I have about 55 employees and only doing 20 percent business for carry-out means I had to lay off 80 percent of my staff." Zimmerman said. "That is about 40 people that I had to send home for three weeks right over Christmas with no pay. As a manager that was the hardest thing I have ever done."

Falling Numbers

Bouncing back won't be easy. According to a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, 89 percent of Pennsylvania restaurants report that profits were down 41 percent in October 2020 compared to the same month the year prior. And even though many Pennsylvania restaurants have added back staff, 89 percent of owners say their staffing levels remain lower, some by as much as 20 percent, than normal and anticipate further layoffs in the coming months.

Perhaps most jarring, 45 percent of owners said their restaurants will be out of business within six months without additional aid from the federal government.

Blair County distributed $11 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Securities Act (CARES) to county businesses. Blair County Commissioner Bruce Erb said the money helps, but it's not nearly enough to make up for lost business.

"I doubt that any sector of the economy has been more damaged by the governor's and secretary of health's mandates than the hospitality industry, particularly eating and lodging establishments," Erb said. "Paycheck protection loans, the PA 30-day fund, county CARES Act grants, and other programs can only help so much."

Staying Positive

Pennsylvania state Representative Jim Gregory (R-80th District) said he has been out in his district talking to restaurant owners and knows how devastating the mandates have been on them. Rep. Gregory said that although the money lost cannot be recovered, he has hope that a corner is about to be turned.

"I want to be hopeful," he said. "My faith tells me good things are coming and the difficulties they have faced, while they could be worse, they can and will get better."

Commissioner Erb said that for restaurants to survive, they cannot endure another shut down and should focus on safety precautions while remaining open.

"I don't think we can afford to wait for an absolute level of safety such as a universal vaccination." Erb said. "To save this industry, consistent public availability needs to be maintained and increased with sensible health and safety standards in place."

Zimmerman agreed, saying at some point it should be the guest's choice, not the government's, on whether people want to dine inside a restaurant. He said he is hopeful for the future because his customers came back after the first shutdown.

"Leading up to December we had nearly recovered from the earlier mandates," he said. "I'm staying as positive as I can. The customers brought us back then and they are coming back now."