/State’s restaurants face precarious future even after Reeves’ new executive order

State’s restaurants face precarious future even after Reeves’ new executive order

John Currence, a James Beard Award-winning chef, has transformed his four Oxford restaurants into two. He packs family meals in Cryovac bags, and sells groceries. Robert St. John, Hattiesburg’s restauranteur, has six restaurants and two bars. Three of them offer meals on-the-go. Monday’s order by Governor Tate Reeves allowed Mississippi restaurants to open starting Thursday morning. The rules were strict. Many are still subject to city ordinances, while others feel unsafe opening due to the current pandemic. Mississippi’s 122,000-strong restaurant workforce represents about 10% of the state’s workforce. They face a uncertain future. Some will surely not survive. Pat Fontaine, executive Director of the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, stated that there will be major changes in the industry both nationally and locally. Restaurants will undergo major changes in the way they operate. Unfortunately, this will lead to closures. This will lead to more closures, so it is important that this doesn’t go on for too long. Restaurants operate under a unique business model that most people don’t know. There are very limited opportunities – 11 to 1, lunch and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. dinner. The number of times that you can change the tables will determine how successful you are. We are looking to reduce capacity by 50% through social distancing. These numbers don’t work.” 35 years ago, brothers Hal and Malcolm White opened Hal & Mal’s – a bar, restaurant and entertainment center. It has survived mass business flight from Jackson, the expulsion of Southeastern Conference football from the capital, fierce entertainment competition from casinos and Hal White’s passing. White stated that the most difficult task will be surviving the COVID-19 epidemic. White stated that “We have borrowed every dollar we can, and our employees are not missing a paycheck.” We are making every effort to pay our bills. While we are trying to make sure that we have the right equipment to be able to open up again at some point in May, we honestly don’t know. Nobody knows. Nobody knows what the restaurant industry will look like from the other side. It is not difficult to see how it will look. Waiters and waitresses will need to wear masks. Disposable menus can be printed on paper. Discussed was the possibility of temperature checks at the door. Touch thermometers are unfortunately not available. White stated, “Maybe I’m being too pessimistic. I hope so.” “But, I believe we will lose 50% of our independent restaurants. It’s a very difficult business. When everything is perfect, we operate with profit margins between 4 and 7 percent. It’s extremely difficult mentally and physically. Fontaine stated that a National Restaurant Association survey, conducted three weeks ago, was very informative. Fontaine stated that forty percent of national restaurants were shut down with no delivery or takeout. Fontaine said that eleven percent of them stated they would not be returning to the business. My expectation is that Mississippi’s numbers will mirror this. Fontaine stated that restaurants that don’t serve alcohol have a profit margin between four and five percent. The profit margin for restaurants that serve alcohol is 8 to 9 percent. This is still a low percentage compared to other industries. Geno Lee, the owner of Big Apple Inn on Farish Street and North State Streets in Jackson, said he has stopped serving takeout and will only serve in-restaurant diners until it feels safe, regardless of what state and city authorities may say. Lee stated, “It is our responsibility to keep ourselves safe. Not the government’s.” “We’ve put up our chairs for now.” Lee, who is well-known for his pig ear sandwiches and has won national and regional acclaim, claims that his restaurants have seen a “big decline” in sales. He said, “We’ve been operating at zero profit for one month.” “But I promised my staff a paycheck for as long as it was possible. My landlord has been very kind and I am grateful. We’re going as long as possible.” Jerry Kountouris (third generation owner) of Mayflower Cafe began curb service Tuesday night. He offers a limited menu. Customers can place orders by calling from 1 to 4 p.m., and then pick up between 5 and 8 p.m. Kountouris stated, “We’ll watch how it goes.” It’s going be difficult even if we reopen at half the capacity. The state and municipal offices are closed. There are many empty offices around us. It will be very difficult to make it work. But we’re going to try.” Randy Yates who owns the Ajax Diner in Oxford was one of the first Mississippi restaurants to close due to the pandemic. It closed on March 15. Yates stated that “We were going try to do it using social distancing, but it reduced our seating capacity to a third.” It was both ineffective and dangerous, I knew. I spoke to my staff. They agreed that closing was the right decision.” Yates plans for a reopening later in May if Oxford city government permits, but it does not appear optimistic. He said, “I cannot imagine doing half of the things we’ve done.” “It’s going to be difficult.” Currence, who owns City Grocery, just down the street of Ajax is more optimistic. Currence stated, “I am naturally optimistic.” Because of our profession, we are problem solvers. We make decisions constantly. “We’ll figure it all.”