Local restaurants work to accommodate COVID restrictions

By: 
Staff Writer Kate Wehlann

On March 16, Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered all restaurants to close to in-person dining and operate on only a carry-out, drive-thru or delivery system. A week later, Holcomb announced an executive order would go into effect at midnight Wednesday morning, March 25, directing all Hoosiers to stay home during the COVID-19 crisis.

In a community like Washington County, where delivery isn’t as wide-spread (except for pizza), the first two are what’s keeping most restaurants afloat right now. Fast food and some locally owned eateries, like Silver Fox Cafe, have drive-thrus, but for the majority, take-out is the only option left. For locally owned, non-chain restaurants, this has meant a reduction in staff, hours or both.

Jeffrey Sayles, who owns Highway 150 Blues Cafe in Hardinsburg, said the restrictions haven’t impacted their operation too heavily.

“We were already a dine-in, carry-out restaurant,” he said. “We’ve had to remove all our tables from the front of the restaurant, but we just remodeled last month. We put a window in for ice cream, but now people can come up to that window and pick up their food.”

The impact on his staffing and sales, however, has been more drastic.

“We’ve [seen our sales be] cut in half,” he said, adding they’ve had to do the same with their staff. “Normally, we have about four people during this time and now, we’re down to two.”

He said the reduction in staff is temporary and those who have not been able to work will be brought back when business picks back up.

“It’s going to be a domino effect for the community and it will take us a while to recover,” he said, adding he’s less concerned about his business and that he owns the building and isn’t in debt. “We stocked up for spring break and I may need to throw away food after 30 days.”

Sayles said he is a deacon at Hardinsburg Christian Church, which hosts a Dare to Care food giveaway, and will donate what he can to help.

“We told residents if they need help, we’ll help them, whatever it takes,” he said.

Sayles said, while the community hasn’t been able to patronize the 150 Blues Cafe as much as usual, those who have been able to purchase meals there, have been generous. He said. “We may not get a lot of business, but those who come have tipped well … We know our customers personally. They’re our family, basically.”

Employees at Country Cookin’ feel the same way about their customers. The little restaurant on Hackberry Street is often full of regulars chatting with the servers and shooting the breeze with each other, and there are often people sitting at the serving bar, waiting for a table to open up, but since March 16, the atmosphere is very different.

“We know their faces, we talk to them all the time,” said owner LaDonna Mitchell. “We’ve always offered take-out, but when you go to not having your people there all the time, it’s hard on the waitresses. We knew what some of them wanted before they did. People come in to get carry-out, but we can’t socialize with our customers as much. We’re trying to get them in and out fairly quickly.”

She said she and her staff are concerned about the regulars they haven’t seen for a while.

“Some customers we don’t have phone numbers for, but some we do and we’ve called to check on them,” she said. “I just hope this gets better soon.”

Mitchell said she employs some high-school-aged kids on the weekends to wash dishes, but she hasn’t been having them come in, and another member of her staff is pregnant and left as a precaution, but said otherwise, she hasn’t had to reduce staff.

“Our main staff may not get as many hours, but we’re doing the best we can,” she said.

To keep things going, Mitchell is offering $5 lunch specials, featuring things like chicken fettuccini alfredo, country fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and fish sandwiches. She’s also offering catering for four or more, for $5 a plate.

“We’re hoping to help families with their daily cooking,” she said. There is a long list of available options for entrees, sides and desserts.

Country Cookin’s hours have been shortened to 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., but catering orders can be picked up until 5 p.m. You can place orders between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. at 812-896-1116, and orders after that at 812-620-0530.

“We’re currently doing about one-fourth or less of what we normally do on a daily basis,” said Mitchell. “We’re hoping with the $5 meals and catering for families, we will be able to keep most of our employees working.”

She added she and her staff are doing extra cleaning during the restaurant’s downtime.

Michael Stieglitz owns the Salem McDonalds and five others. He said there has been an impact there, even for a restaurant owned by a massive corporation like McDonalds. Still, he said he has committed to not reducing his staff at any of his stores.

“We will not lay off or terminate anyone because of COVID,” he said. He said there has been a reduction in hours, but “we’ve been very diligent in spreading out the available hours. As the weather breaks, we are planning to allow people to volunteer to be paid for doing outside work like landscaping, power washing, things like that, because our dining rooms are closed.”

Stieglitz  said the stores have seen a fairly significant reduction in customer numbers due to COVID.

“Salem has seen a loss in sales, but not as bad as it could be because the community trusts us to provide fast, clean, friendly and great-tasting food,” he said.

Restaurants are considered essential services, so they are not being ordered to close in the stay-at-home directive. When it comes to keeping employees safe and healthy, Stieglitz said McDonalds is the “industry leader” in sanitation procedures and his stores have picked up the pace even more during the COVID crisis.

“The Salem, among all six of my stores, is my number one of all locations as far as cleanliness goes,” he said.

Staff are wiping down high-touch areas more frequently, including door knobs, kiosks, countertops and bathroom surfaces, sometimes, he said, up to 10 times an hour.

“We’re going through a lot of cleaning supplies right now, but that’s not a bad thing,” he said.

Furthermore, they have installed hand sanitizer stations, both in the lobby, and behind the counter for employees. Restaurants are required to have employees wash their hands once an hour, said Stieglitz, but during this time, he said his stores have set handwashing timers to every 30 minutes, but that employees are washing their hands far more frequently than that.

“Every time I’m in the restaurant, I’m constantly seeing someone washing their hands,” he said.

From an operations point, aside from people staying to eat or children in the PlayPlace, things are much the same. The lobby is open for carry-out orders and the drive-thru is open for orders as well.

“We’re a bit limited, because we don’t have delivery yet, but McDonalds is working to bring delivery to us, but that may not be until after this is past,” said Stieglitz.

Stieglitz said his employees are his number one priority, saying he’s doing his best to make sure everyone gets as many hours as possible. He also said his stores would rise to the occasion to help should anyone need donations.

“There have already been inquiries from hospitals, first responders, elderly care facilities, asking if they have a need, will McDonalds step up to the plate, and absolutely yes,” he said. “Contact our restaurants for any requests for donations. We’re open, willing and ready when called upon.”

Sayles said the key during this time is to stay calm.

“Don’t panic or make rash decisions,” Sayles advised other businesses. “If you stand strong and keep a level head, we’ll get through this. Have faith.”

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