Restaurateurs cooking up pandemic restart plans with eyes on June 8

Barring any COVID-19 setbacks, restaurants in this province could have people dining-in two weeks from now although they're awaiting plans for dining safely during a pandemic.

The owner of the Woodstock Public House in Paradise says he'll be looking closely at provincial guidelines.

"As they come out with recommendations, it will be our goal to not only meet them but to exceed them," said Brendon O'Rourke.

Restaurants had to close their doors in March, as Newfoundland and Labrador entered a public health emergency to reduce the spread of COVID-19, with a number offering contactless takeout and delivery service in the meantime.

Just go with it and support them. Because if they disappear they are gone and won't be back.- Nancy Brace

When the province loosens restrictions and shifts to Alert Level 3, restaurants can reopen at reduced occupancy, butbuffets will remain prohibited.That shift is tentatively slated for June 8 if the number of cases remains under control, with three active as of Monday.

So the province's restaurateurs are getting down to the nitty-gritty of coming up with their own plans as they wait to adjust them to whatever guidelines are ultimately put in place by public health officials.

Size matters

"We're hoping where we have 4,600 square feet of dining space, physical distancing should be pretty breezy here," said O'Rourke.

At 50 per cent occupancy, O'Rourke said, he could still fit 150 people in his dining room.

"So we're going to use that to our advantage."

But O'Rourke said his industry friends who own smaller locations havetold him they're worried about what to do.

Restaurateur Todd Perrin said his teams at Mallard Cottage and Waterwest Kitchen and Meats are working on the new normal.

"We're really trying to turn a horribly negative situation into a positive," Perrin said about his two locations in St. John's.

At Waterwest, Perrin said, the layout makes any form of physical distancing near impossible. His plan is to continue withand expandthe takeout service from his butcher shop.

Inside Quidi Vidi'shistoric Mallard Cottage, Perrin said, the modelis high volume and low yield, whichis not sustainable in a physical-distancing world in which patrons may need to be six feet apart.

Ditching the old model

Perrin said that means upending the old model and coming up with something that can work given the reality of the pandemic's next phase.

"We can't be the same as we were when we closed because of this, because it's not a recipe to keep the doors open long-term. So we gotta do something different and we gotta figure out what that is," he said.

"I'm here with my drill in my hand and my screwdriver and my measuring tape, trying to figure out what the restaurant is going to look like in a couple of weeks."

Perrin said the plan is a moving target that's subject to change almost every hour and he doesn't think Mallard Cottage will open on June 8even if it gets the green light; he wants to see how things go.

Guidelines coming

As for what the new guidelines for reopening will look like, guidance from the province is expected this week, according to Luc Erjavec, Atlantic Canada vice-presidentfor Restaurants Canada.

"It's something we're working closely with government officials on so we can then share the information with individual restaurants so they can develop their own operating plan to keep both customers and their staff safe," he said.

Erjavec said details being worked out include physical-distancing guidelines and the potential need for personal protective equipment and barriers.

He said governments need to provide financial assistance to get started again somethingRestaurants Canada is advocating for.

'Just go with it and support them'

But if customers don't show up, none of the plans really matter.

The former head of the province's restaurant association, Nancy Brace, is calling on the public to be kindas things get going again.

"There's going to be glitches. But don't punish [restaurant owners] for those glitches and don't not go out because there will be glitches," she said.

"Just roll with it. Just go with it and support them. Because if they disappear they are gone and they won't be back."

This coverage is part of Changing Course, a series of stories from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador that's taking a closer look at how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting local industries and businesses, and how they're adapting during these uncertain times to stay afloat.

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