pexels-photo-1269025

I saw a poignant sight recently. A little restaurant near our home had converted part of its parking lot to an outdoor eating space. Tables were set and socially distanced.  It was about 5:00 p.m. Raindrops started falling on my windshield as I sat watching, waiting at a stoplight. One of the waitstaff started scrambling to gather up napkins and menus. Most likely, no dinner shift for them tonight. My heart broke a little.

Eateries are struggling in Connecticut. As a state, we’ve towed the line with social distancing and mask wearing and our numbers have stayed low (so far). That’s the good news.

The bad news is that restaurants are fighting to stay in business, having to find new, creative way to attract and keep customers.

The other day, a friend who owned a French bistro in Westport let us know he had closed his doors. Before Covid, this little place was lively and fun and always packed. The small bar at the front was full of people drinking martinis or glasses of champagne. We celebrated many a birthday and anniversary there.

The air smelled of garlic and fresh bread. The interior was painted a happy coral color with black and white booths. When it was someone’s birthday, three or four smiling French waiters would come by, all singing “Bon Anniversaire!”

We spent a few New Year’s Eves with friends dining on escargot and lemony sole. The last holiday was full of coral and black helium balloons bumping along the ceiling, their strings hanging down. The owners always went out of their way to make everything fun and festive.

Now its doors are closed  — maybe forever — another victim of Covid-19.

Even for those restaurants who have stayed open, many are shells of what they used to be. Some have no inside dining. Some do, but the seating is sparse, with tables far apart. The waiters are masked. Customers have to cover their faces when they move about.

Others are living mainly on take-out business, some offering inexpensive “family dinners” – for 4-6 people, with a choice of entrée, including salad, bread, and pasta. They go for a  price that would’ve barely covered one person before. Some even throw in a bottle of wine. There’s still a lot of “curbside service,” another term never heard of a year ago.

Yet even with these careful measures (or maybe because of them) business is down. Many people see what’s happening to other parts of the country that opened too soon. They’re afraid of dining out.

I can’t help wondering, once our cold Connecticut winter sets in, what will happen to these eateries who serve only outside? Many restaurants are doing everything they can, but still barely break even.

“How are you doing?” I ask the lady at our local pizza place.  It’s a question I never asked her pre-Covid-19. Back then, we were just customer and vendor. Now we talk more. We both wear masks and I stand six feet away from the counter, marked off on the floor by blue masking tape. She sighs as she rings the register. “We’re trying our best, but I’ll be honest, it’s hard.”

I buy Japanese food at a place that had always been friendly and bustling with great sushi and tempura. Now a wooden counter blocks the entrance. Its take-out only. The young woman rings me up. You can’t see anyone smile anymore.

Before Covid-19 we didn’t realize as we sat in booths or waited casually for the maitre d’ to seat us, or laughed around close-together tables that we were at the end of an era, where we could dine where we wanted and enjoy a restaurant without weighing the odds. We could joke around with an unmasked waiter.

What will our restaurant community look like after a year or two of Covid? Like any war zone, some will survive, and some won’t.

And yes, compared to many hardships in this country – patients on respirators, their worried families, exhausted healthcare workers, too many people out of work — these problems are small. But they’re still there. So many livelihoods walk a fragile line.

Today, I watch that waiter gather up napkins and menus as the rain comes down harder, a lost chance at business, a notion that would’ve been unthinkable at the beginning of this year.  Now it’s the new normal.

I feel sad as I drive away but remind myself to try and stay optimistic. This too shall pass. Someday those restaurants – the ones we knew and loved – might return.

We miss them already.

 

How are the eateries affected in your area? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like, please share!

To receive posts by email, just press here.

Comments(14)

    • Sue

    • 4 years ago

    Dear Laurie, in my area, few cars are seen parked outside the local diner. i guess, eating there is more of a cloroxey hassle. Frankly, this covid drama is nothing but economic persecution of working-age people. ‘am very disgusted that our nation’s leaders called for businesses to shut down – the whole move was unnecessarily over-the-top.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      Sue, Sorry to hear about your local diner. This is so hard on small businesses.

  1. While on our staycation, we ate at an outside restaurant, during a thunderstorm. We did get a little wet as we huddled under the patio umbrella, but it was all part of the fun.

    Restaurants are struggling, and some patrons refuse to wear masks, which puts the staff and the business in danger. I wish people would get with the program.

    Honestly, if we all hunkered down for six weeks, only took curbside, wore masks and and watched our distance, we could have this behind us.

    I long for the good ole days. That said, I’ll bet we never quite go back to what was. Our senses will continue to be heightened and new norms will be ours.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      Adela, Couldn’t agree more. Some common sense rules will ultimately help this virus go away faster.

  2. Here in the UK, people don’t seem to be towing the line very well – not where we are anyway. No tracking and tracing. I find it all very confusing – I just like to know where the boundaries are and for people to try to stick to them. On a more positive note, ave managed to get back to my socially distanced steel drum band – 8 of us dotted around in a village hall! Thankfully a big old steel drum is good company! I am sorry you have lost quite a lot of you lovely culture out thee. Sounds like you had it good.

    p.s. Is there any way you can make this writing bigger Laurie? – I need a magnifying glass to write my comment!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      Jennie, I love the idea of a steel drum band! What fun. Surprised the UK isn’t back to normal yet. You guys seem to be doing such a good job getting rid of this virus. (I’ll also look into comment size).

  3. It breaks my heart ot see people struggling. But fills me with hope that so many keep on trying new things. New strategies.
    Most of my family members were unemployed during the lockdown, but have recovered now.
    My youngest daughter, however, is another matter. She and her circle are the theatre actors and technicians who add spice and colour to a usually mundane life. All are currently (and quite possibly for a very long time) unemployed and unemployable. Some technicians are offering their skills (carpentry, electronics and more ‘practical’ talents) in other sectors. Some have gotten creative with online productions. But all are very worried. Edmonton is a very ‘artistic’ city. With dozens of groups who quite happily earn livings from entertainment. That is a lot of the population out of work…

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      Diane, So sad. I can’t imagine what will happen to New York City, about an hour away from us. No Broadway, sporting events, shopping, indoor restaurants, etc. Hopefully it will all return someday, including your beautiful local theater. Won’t that be wonderful?

  4. I can’t even imagine the carnage that is going to happen to so many restaurants and businesses. But I understand why we need to have them stay closed. We’re spiking in California. A friend who has a restaurant had their power turned off because a gym in the mini mall they were in wasn’t complying. Luckily, they got it turned back on after the media came out and covered it. Let’s just all comply so we can get this thing over with sooner.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      Rebecca, Couldn’t agree more. I think its very short-sighted to refuse masks. Let’s comply and get past this virus.

  5. My heart breaks for these business owners. Don’t forget they made most of their money (profits) off the bar business. Food alone and at 50% capacity isn’t going to cut it. I am afraid we are just starting to see the beginning of the carnage. I am trying to do my part to help keep local restaurants open but I don’t know. NYC which is a city my husband works in and I used to go for business at least once a week is a ghost town. Beyond sad.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      Lauren, I haven’t been to NYC in months. I can’t imagine how sad it must be.

  6. It would be wonderful if all this blow should have been dealt not to people, but to state finances. But the realities are different.
    Behind every such cafe, restaurant and bisto there are fates, families. This is very sad …

      • Laurie Stone

      • 4 years ago

      It’s beyond sad. I pray they survive, one way or the other.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *