The pain is personal and real for our restaurant industry - four accounts of these trying times
As of 12:01 am Tuesday, area residents have been ordered to stay at home. The order allows residents to leave their homes only for activities “essential to the health and safety” of themselves, family members, and friends. Activities include seeking medical attention or acquiring food. The inclusion of food in the order is especially important to area restaurants, which have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many restaurants have closed, hoping to reopen down the road. Others have transitioned to carryout and curbside operations to generate sales and stay afloat. Some have reinvented themselves with new themes and products. The efforts of area restaurants and the support of the public is laudatory. It showcases the ingenuity, resilience, and fortitude of the local food and beverage industry and the community at large. But the reality is some local restaurants will not reopen. No one knows which ones or how many. Also, regardless of the restaurant or the action taken, across the board there have been massive layoffs. It should also be noted that while the stay at home order is in effect for 30-days, the ban on gatherings of ten or more persons in Jackson County is in effect until at least May 15, so expect more restaurant closings and additional layoffs.
Dan McCall is the owner of District Pour House + Kitchen and The Classic Cup, both restaurants located in Kansas City. McCall says he and his businesses are devastated. “I had to lay off 95-percent of my staff at both places, and with the ban on gatherings extended for another two months, I don’t have much choice,” McCall stated. I’d describe McCall as a “glass half full” kind of guy, but not these days. McCall has already closed The Classic Cup and he’s contemplating the same for District Pour House. “No one is making money by delivering food, so as soon as we get through our perishable items, we’re either going to switch to all frozen items that we can just fry or close,” McCall said.
These are dark times for the restaurant industry. The National Restaurant Association recently estimated that a third of restaurant workers nationwide will lose their jobs permanently. McCall says he believes that number is low. His personal numbers are staggering. “We generate about $100,000 a month in revenue at each restaurant, so if I close for two months, that’s $400,000 in lost revenue,” McCall pointed out.
Louisa “Lou” Swithenbank is a bartender at Leawood’s Pig and Finch. She was furloughed last week as The 801 Restaurant Group, of which Pig & Finch is a member, closed its restaurants. If you’ve ever visited the bar at Pig & Finch, you’ve likely encountered Swithenbank, an affable, high-octane British native who befriends seemingly everyone crossing her path. Swithenbank says the whole situation is surreal. “It’s like being in a movie. I remember going to work on Friday the 13 thinking it wasn’t going to hurt us for a while. Then, Saturday and Sunday I had no guests, zero, just my boyfriend and his friends. Monday came around and I had one table and was sent home early. Tuesday, we were told we had all lost our jobs,” Swithenbank shared.
Swithenbank told me she’s thankful she lives with her boyfriend, so she’s not stuck alone in an apartment. But she worries. She doesn’t know where or what her next job will be. She’s unsure how long she’ll have insurance. And her mother lives in England, so she has no idea when she’ll be able to see her. “I have to say it’s the uncertainty that’s driving everyone crazy. Not knowing how long it will last or what will come next,” Swithenbank said.
Pig & Finch General Manager Seth Welch has set up a GoFundMe account for his employees with all monies going to the workers. To learn more and donate, click HERE.
Brent Grider-Osborn, the Food and Beverage Director for downtown Kansas City’s Hotel Phillips, is also unsure where his next job may be. Grider-Osborn was laid off from the hotel on St. Patrick’s Day. “There was a conference call with the head office in Chicago. Chef Bryant Wigger and I knew something was up when we weren’t invited to participate. We were provided a letter saying the hotel was shutting down food and beverage operations and that we could “reapply for our positions” if and when things improve,” Grider-Osborn shared. “They kept a few people for the front desk and a skeleton housekeeping crew, but that’s it.”
Grider-Osborn, who has also worked at The Westin-Crown Center, says he’s never heard of such drastic action. “I’m not bad-mouthing Arbor Lodging (which owns The Hotel Phillips). Tough decisions had to be made. But that doesn’t make it any easier when it impacts you,” Grider-Osborn told me. Grider-Osborn says he’s applied for unemployment and he’s going to take the next two weeks to let the dust settle and see where he’s at.
The mood was somber at Taps on Main in KC’s Crossroads District when I stopped by to visit with the Tower Brothers who run the establishment. For the uninitiated, Taps is what I’d call an American version of a German Beer Hall, a big open space with large tables where friends and family gather over dozens of craft beer choices on draft and fresh food from a scratch kitchen. If it sounds as like I’m a fan, I am. I’ve featured Taps and the Towers in other articles, met their mom and dad, and have partaken in a few of those draft beers and many of their menu items. Taps on Main just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Not long after, the family decided to close the restaurant during the ban on public gatherings. That was before the ban was extended. Now, like the others, the Towers are looking at Taps being shuttered for a minimum of two months. Grant, Jason, and Marc say they have no option other than to ride this out and reopen, which they vow to do. “We are going to make it to the other side., I guarantee that,” Jason told me.
I asked Grant what the future might look like? He didn’t, or couldn’t, make eye contact, paused for a long time, started to answer, then sighed and said he couldn’t while choking back tears. Jason quickly filled in the void. “My glass half full vision is that two or three months from now this room is full of people having a great time, eating, drinking, and sharing each other’s company. Our society is communal by nature. We need that, and it’s going to happen,” Tower weighed in. “Oh, and let’s hope they remember all the people impacted by that and they tip really, really well.” I didn’t have the heart to ask the Towers what a glass half empty future might look like. But we all know what that might be. And we all fear it. Let’s hope Jason’s glass half full vision is 20-20.
You can continue supporting area restaurants by buying gift cards and merchandise from their websites and ordering carryout food. A comprehensive, continually updated, list of restaurants offering carryout and curbside options can be accessed at www.curbsidekc.com.