‘It’s going to be similar to 9/11:’ KC restaurants, hotels brace for coronavirus fallout
Kathy Zeller flew more than 1,000 miles on Wednesday to watch the Kansas Jayhawks play in the Big 12 basketball tournament.
But when the conference canceled the tournament Thursday — the latest in a string of coronavirus-related disruptions— she decided to pay an airline change fee to head back home to Las Vegas two days early.
“I’m disappointed,” Zeller said Thursday as she walked from lunch in the Power & Light District. “But once it sunk in, I thought it was the right thing to do.”
That means not only is Zeller losing money on the trip — she spent $750 on game tickets alone — but so is Kansas City.
With warm weather, spring breaks and basketball tournaments, this should have been a banner week for businesses in Kansas City’s urban core. The tournaments promised to pump millions into the local economy.
But those prospects were quickly erased as Thursday spiraled into chaos.
With the doors of the Sprint Center locked, basketball fans from across the country congregated in the bars and restaurants in Power & Light across the street. But many were preparing to leave the city early.
Rally House, usually a hot spot for sports fans buying T-Shirts and hats, was empty, save for the store’s clerks. Crews disassembled a stage and lighting rig outside of Johnny’s Tavern where Grand Boulevard had been blocked off for the Miller Lite Fan Fest.
As life changes for all Americans in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, businesses in Kansas City are bracing for low traffic and sales. That’s partly from the fear and panic shaking many consumers’ confidence. But it’s also traced to aggressive governmental measures to control the spread of the virus.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Thursday declared a state of emergency. The mayor ordered cancellation of all events with more than 1,000 people — delivering an immediate blow to the city’s tourism industry.
At the Marriott hotel downtown, a mix of West Virginia and Texas fans milled about in the lobby. They drank at the bar and munched on complimentary cookies near the front entrance. While the hotel was buzzing, one bellman said it resembled the last day of the big tournament rush: fans and players were checking out by lunchtime.
“This is going to be similar to 9/11 as far as I can see,” said Kurt Mayo, executive director of the Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City. “But we don’t want to overreact. We have to figure out what’s going on.”
He said business at hotels near Kansas City International Airport were already suffering as airlines cut flight loads in the wake of decreased demand for leisure and business travel. And Lucas’ decision will likely push down occupancy rates at many hotels in and around downtown.
“Obviously, canceling conventions is going to have a devastating effect. There’s no doubt about it,” Mayo said.
He said many operators were working with customers who had previously booked stays and some groups were working to reschedule events later in the year.
“I believe they’re trying to work with their customers,” he said. “Of course, it’s going to vary hotel to hotel. But I think for the most part, they’re all being very understanding.”
VisitKC, the city’s visitors and convention bureau, did not respond to multiple requests for interviews Thursday. But the organization issued a statement online saying the group was exploring the future of all upcoming events and meetings.
“Using common-sense guidelines expressed by the KCMO Health Department, we encourage locals to support the hospitality and tourism industries as they are able,” the statement said. “Most local businesses remain open with healthy and preventative practices in place.”
While the deepening international coronavirus crisis sent stocks into another alarming slide Thursday, the biggest local impact so far came in the way of dampening tourism spending related to the Big 12 basketball tournaments, said Jeff Pinkerton, senior researcher with the Mid-America Regional Council.
“This should be a huge economic boom with the Big 12 tournament going on: a lot of people from out of town, spending their dollars attending the games, eating at restaurants and bars,” Pinkerton said. “That’s going to be a huge impact and that just ripples throughout the economy.”
‘It’s all happening so quickly’
So far, most Kansas City businesses remain open to the public.
But as offices increasingly send workers home and schools contemplate extended closures, it’s unclear how consumers spending at restaurants and retail stores will change.
“It’s all happening so quickly. It seems to worsen every day,” said Mark Drouin. “If people don’t want to go into restaurants to eat, that’s bad news for everybody. You don’t know where it will end.”
He and his wife sold their food truck the Cajun Cabin in January after touring the metro for nine years. They planned to open up their new south Kansas City comfort food restaurant in April.
But just as Drouin was meeting utility companies Thursday morning, the mayor issued his emergency declaration. While the timing may pinch the couple’s finances, they’re putting their faith in a universal truth: people still have to eat.
“Bills are going to start coming in in April,” he said. “The good news is we’re selling food and people are still getting hungry.”
In the Crossroads Arts District, Italian restaurant Farina assured customers Thursday that employees were continually washing their hands and disinfecting all high-touch surfaces. As reservations held steady, the restaurant placed hand sanitizer stations throughout the venue.
“We’re doing whatever we can. If we all do the right thing and heed the warnings we will figure it out,” said James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Smith.
He said the coronavirus is a concern for anyone who runs a business.
“But we are taking the approach that we are all in and we are going to ride it out,” Smith said. “It is a virus that is going to come to an end.”
On Thursday, Oak Park Mall in Overland Park announced plans to hold its first Bunny Ball on March 21. The mall invited the community to “dance, play and get their pictures taken with the guest of honor” — the Easter Bunny — at the free event. But it was canceled by the end of the day.
Streetcar Grille & Tavern on the streetcar line had customers lined up before its 11 a.m. opening on Thursday. Just to the south, Taps on Main drew a steady crowd after introducing an all-day happy hour special to draw in displaced fans.
A few blocks over, Songbird Cafe sent a promotional email to customers advertising the benefits to the immune system from its shots and juices. It’s offering a buck off all fresh juices this month. “Let’s fight this!” the email read.
Fast-food chains and big-box retailers tried to assure customers that they were taking serious measures to sanitize their stores and protect customers.
JCPenney increased cleaning routines at its department stores and publicized its curbside pickup program for online orders at some locations.
Shake Shack, which operates restaurants in Leawood and on the Country Club Plaza, said it increased cleaning routines. Likewise, self-service condiments and utensils were removed and available only from employees upon request. The company also introduced a new, fully sealed bag for all mobile, to-go and delivery orders.
“As this is a fluid situation, you may see certain Shacks adjusting hours or modifying our operations,” Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti said in a statement. “There may even be moments where we temporarily choose to close a Shack if we feel it’s in the interest of the safety of our team and community.”
Mayor takes action
On Thursday, Kansas City’s mayor acknowledged that his state of emergency declaration would cost the local economy.
“The first economic impact will largely hit our convention, our tourism industry at a time where it’s not necessarily good for them to be hit,” Lucas said at a press conference. “In the interest of public health, public safety, we made these decisions. But we’re aware of the fact that this may need more support from the city in any number of different areas, and we’ll look to that as we proceed not just over the next several weeks, but over the rest of the year.”
Reporters asked whether the declaration meant that otherwise healthy people should avoid entertainment districts like Westport.
Erica Carney, medical director of Kansas City’s Emergency Medical Services, said people can carry the virus without symptoms, potentially exposing more at-risk populations to the virus.
But Lucas said there was no reason yet for healthy people to avoid leaving home.
“This isn’t a mass quarantine of the area that you’ve seen in Italy, other places. Instead, right now, I think we’re suggesting that there is heightened risk at large events,” the mayor said. “That’s how we’ve seen spread happen in a number of clusters throughout our country, and that’s the reason why we’re announcing these protocols today.”
The timing of the coronavirus crisis collided with the upcoming opening of the $360 million Loews Kansas City Convention Center. The heavily subsidized hotel was championed by civic leaders who have fought for years to bring more tourism business to town.
According to VisitKC, Kansas City hosted 344 conventions last year, up from 290 in 2018. That organization says numerous major conventions chose Kansas City because of the Loews hotel, including five booked through 2023 that are expected to result in nearly 76,800 room nights.
Reached on Thursday, a spokesperson for the hotel said its plans for an April 2 opening remain in place, but the company would not comment more. Though many major hotel brands have relaxed cancellation policies, it’s unclear how Loews will treat customers with upcoming bookings.
Restaurant business uncertain
On Tuesday, it was business as usual at the monthly meeting of the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association.
“Everyone seemed upbeat,” said chapter president Bill Teel.
But that was before the Big 12 outright canceled its basketball tournaments.
“That’s going to hurt,” Teel said. “It depends on how long it lasts.”
Teel said 2020 had been off to a good start for his membership. Despite some high-profile closures and bankruptcies of local restaurant groups, Teel said the Kansas City region’s restaurant industry was coming off a 2019 in which there were more openings than closings.
With the yearly arrival of visitors and sports fans, March is a crucial month for restaurateurs across the area.
“Particularly for restaurants downtown,” Teel said. “I don’t know what percentage of their annual sales it is, but it’s important. If you lose that, it’s going to hit your bottom line significantly, I would think.”
As of Thursday morning, V’s Italiano Ristorante in Independence hadn’t seen a sustained impact from consumers avoiding restaurants, said president Greg Hunsucker, a past president of the Missouri Restaurant Association.
“We are obviously concerned,” he said. “...Now of course, the NCAA with their announcements yesterday doesn’t help our cause.”
Hunsucker said his business was coming off a strong weekend before things slowed down early this week.
“Monday came and lunch was slow, dinner was horrible,” Hunsucker said, adding he heard similar reports from other popular restaurants in the area.
Things were back to normal Wednesday, but he couldn’t predict what’s in store for the coming days.
“We just don’t know,” Hunsucker said. “And not knowing drives you crazy.”
Quinton’s Bar & Deli in downtown Lawrence has already seen traffic decrease slightly, said shift manager Dustin Becker.
The bar, which sits at the north end of Massachusetts Street, caters to a mostly local crowd during the lunch hour. But its late-night business revolves around college students.
“And that’s been down for the last few weeks,” Becker said.
University of Kansas students are on spring break this week. But the school has already delayed classes for one more week because of the spread of the virus. Once classes resume on March 23, they will all be online with KU deciding how to proceed on a week-by-week basis.
With slower business, Quinton’s has canceled some server shifts, though it so far plans to stay open regular hours. But Becker said the absence of the Big 12 basketball tournament will likely push sales down further.
“That’s going to be a major bummer,” he said.
Star reporters Allison Kite, Glenn E. Rice and Katie Moore contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 6:03 PM.
