B.C.’s restaurant sector is attempting cook up plans to reopen dining rooms under strict new social-distancing rules.
Less seating, more space between tables, reduced menus and an emphasis on patios and outdoor eating areas could be part of the pitch that restaurants develop for provincial health officials, said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
“We’ve been able to demonstrate during this that we’ve been able to operate kitchens because of takeout and delivery,” said Tostenson. “So that method has been working.”
Premier John Horgan has said the province will begin to slowly reopen the economy in mid-May. A key component would be the restaurant sector, whose 190,000 jobs makes it the third-largest private-sector employer in the province.
As many as 180,000 restaurant workers are unemployed, after health officials in March ordered that only takeout and delivery services would be allowed. Restoring the sector could generate $15 billion in annual economic activity and boost B.C.’s gross domestic product by as much as five per cent.
Any proposal will require the approval of provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, who said last week she thinks limited reopenings are possible. Henry joked that she is as eager as the rest of the public to return to her favourite restaurant for a meal.
“I think there are lots of innovative ways that we can have in-restaurant dining that protects both the staff and people coming in,” she said. “And I’m looking to industry to come up with those ideas of how this could work. It’s going to be a challenge, I understand, particularly for many small restaurants.”
A 50-person limit for gatherings will remain in place for the foreseeable future, and Henry.
Restaurants say they could open fewer tables — with a recommended two-metre space in between — and provide clear explanations on food preparation, sanitization and hygiene efforts. Tostenson said they could also ramp up patio and outdoor seating during warm spring and summer weather. Henry has said COVID-19 is less easily spread outdoors.
“Patios are going to play a very big part of how we see this working out,” said Kelly Gordon, a part owner of Romer’s Burger Bar, with three locations in Metro Vancouver.
Municipalities and the provincial liquor licensing branch could help by relaxing rules for more outside seating, said Gordon.
Restaurants run on notoriously tight profit margins and have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Many are expected to go bankrupt rather than reopen.
Those who have struggled to remain in business say federal programs to provide 75 per cent wage subsidies, combined with an unusually high volume of takeout orders, have kept just enough cash flowing for operations to stay viable.
“Two of our three properties are doing 30 per cent of their regular revenue and one is doing 45 per cent of regular revenue just on takeout — which is very different than what we thought would happen,” said Gordon, adding he expects takeout to remain a strong part of business going forward.
“The other thing people don’t understand is that restaurants, on a busy Friday night, you are never going to have 100 per cent of your seats occupied — 80 per cent is the magic number. So when you are talking about going … to 50 per cent [capacity under social distancing] … it’s not going to be as lucrative, I don’t want to give you that impression. But I can certainly see getting through it a bit better.”
Gordon said smaller dining rooms could mean restaurants increase prices and shrink menus to focus on dishes with larger margins. It will also mean restaurateurs need to be innovative.
“It’s a very mathematical game,” said Gordon, who also owns the Steamship Grill in Victoria. “You have to consider doing things you haven’t done before. On Saturday, I was washing dishes. I run an $11-million company, and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
A phased return to some restaurant dining is better than nothing, but it won’t erase the pain facing the sector, said David Hopkins, president of The Fifteen Group, a hospitality management and consulting firm.
“The margins are so incredibly small in restaurants to begin with that if you are only able to seat two-thirds or three-quarters of what you typically do, your pricing is going to have to go up dramatically for it even to make somewhat sense,” said Hopkins, adding that smaller dining rooms don’t necessarily equate to less kitchen staff.
“Restaurants in the first two months of opening will not be making any money. Once you’ve opened up a restaurant, incremental revenue is what makes it successful.”
Another question will be whether consumers, reeling from record job losses, have enough disposable income to resume dining out.
At Little Jumbo Restaurant and Bar in downtown Victoria, owner Bruce Gillespie said he is itching to reopen his space, and envisions removing 25 per cent of his tables to make room for social distancing.
“We want to be one of the first ones to come back on stream,” said Gillespie. “My thinking now is that you’ll need a reservation and the pricing will be a little more premium than it has been in the past.”
Takeout orders mean he has made 15 per cent of his usual sales since the crisis, and had to lay off two-thirds of his staff. But with a return of restricted seating, Little Jumbo could stay open, he said.
“If you’re getting some supplement from takeout and delivery, it probably can work,” he said.
