jlawrence01 wrote:

lougord99 wrote:
Unfortunately, I think the exact opposite will happen. Chains have the money to weather this. It's the chef owner that will most likely go down the drain.

It really depends on the chain. Nation's Restaurant News noted after market close that Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes will file for bankruptcy shortly. .

I just received an e-mail that Garden Fresh Restaurants has filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and will close its 97 stores immediately. They noted that they will not be able to reimburse customers for their unused gift certificates.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/bu ... coronvirus


There goes another healthy option.

jlawrence01 wrote:I just received an e-mail that Garden Fresh Restaurants has filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and will close its 97 stores immediately.

That was already posted, above. (Garden Fresh is the parent company of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes, and the post you quote is about the same 97 restaurants.)

https://secretlosangeles.com/amsterdam- ... 2IjVueYdic

Ohio restaurant installs shower curtains to comply with state orders

An unusual social-distancing solution already is in place at the North Canton breakfast cafe Twisted Citrus, which will reopen for sit-down dining on May 21, as allowed by the state.

“I came up with the idea of clear vinyl shower-curtain liners as dividers between tables,” co-owner Kim Shapiro said. “They’re suspended from the ceiling with hooks and drop down to where the back of a chair would be.

“We can spray (the curtains) down with Lysol and COVID cleaner spray,” she said.
...

Cathy2 wrote:Ohio restaurant installs shower curtains to comply with state orders

An unusual social-distancing solution already is in place at the North Canton breakfast cafe Twisted Citrus, which will reopen for sit-down dining on May 21, as allowed by the state.

“I came up with the idea of clear vinyl shower-curtain liners as dividers between tables,” co-owner Kim Shapiro said. “They’re suspended from the ceiling with hooks and drop down to where the back of a chair would be.

“We can spray (the curtains) down with Lysol and COVID cleaner spray,” she said.
...

Plastic shower curtain liners, Lysol and Covid cleaner spray? Not NSF certified and will the local health department approve this? There needs to be NSF/health department guidelines for what is safe and not safe. Not Jr Achievement/4H club ideas. I wouldn't trust this!
CSD

I saw a restaurant in the Netherlands with plexiglass or glass enclosures around each outdoor booth with a small opening for handing things through.

Ram4 wrote:I saw a restaurant in the Netherlands with plexiglass or glass enclosures around each outdoor booth with a small opening for handing things through.

https://secretlosangeles.com/amsterdam- ... SEOSKyVDQM

CSD

This is a LONG article by Erin S. Bromage, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth talking about the dangers of opening up businesses at this time. I only include this as it has some specific examples of the problems of eating out at this time. I believe that the researcher makes some valid points.


https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-ri ... S4IKvt6uMM

Why it’s dangerous to open up restaurants now.

The other day Nightline featured the just reopened Portofinos inTexas. The owners quizzed prospective diners before showing them a table eg. do they have a temperature, but without a thermal scanner (under $100) there is no good way of screening for this.

They made sure the servers had face masks, but the featured server, as well as a cook at the pass, only had their mouths covered, not their noses. I can imagine many more lapses with no ABC cameras around

scottsol wrote:Why it’s dangerous to open up restaurants now.

The other day Nightline featured the just reopened Portofinos inTexas. The owners quizzed prospective diners before showing them a table eg. do they have a temperature, but without a thermal scanner (under $100) there is no good way of screening for this.

They made sure the servers had face masks, but the featured server, as well as a cook at the pass, only had their mouths covered, not their noses. I can imagine many more lapses with no ABC cameras around

I hate to say it, but logic tells me the same dangers are being risked by people who get delivery and carry-out. If restaurant employees (when they know they're on news cameras, for God's sake) aren't wearing proper protection, why would they when out of sight of customers and preparing meals for off-site consumption?

riddlemay wrote:

scottsol wrote:Why it’s dangerous to open up restaurants now.

The other day Nightline featured the just reopened Portofinos inTexas. The owners quizzed prospective diners before showing them a table eg. do they have a temperature, but without a thermal scanner (under $100) there is no good way of screening for this.

They made sure the servers had face masks, but the featured server, as well as a cook at the pass, only had their mouths covered, not their noses. I can imagine many more lapses with no ABC cameras around

I hate to say it, but logic tells me the same dangers are being risked by people who get delivery and carry-out. If restaurant employees (when they know they're on news cameras, for God's sake) aren't wearing proper protection, why would they when out of sight of customers and preparing meals for off-site consumption?

This! At the beginning, many of our favorite restaurants and chefs posted about all of the precautions that were being taken. I felt comfortable eating from these establishments, and wanted to support them. Then about two weeks ago, due to some scheduling restraints, I placed a last-minute order from a respected neighborhood restaurant, but one I had not been following online. When I entered (because they had not sent instructions not to) to pick up my order, I was appalled to find two of the three front of the house staff unmasked. They were handling the packages, and having people sign receipts, albeit with baskets for clean and used pens, and all three were later identified as managers. All of the chefs in the open kitchen, on both sides of the pass, were also unmasked. I asked about this, and the gentleman behind the bar pulled his up off his neck, and explained he took it down because no guests were inside, although I noted he was carrying two bags of food as he said this. The one person wearing a mask, who was also handling curbside deliveries, told me that everyone has their temperatures checked daily, and there were no CDC guidelines for kitchen staff to wear masks. I expressed dismay and told her that I wanted to support their business (hopefully evidenced by the 50% tip I had given for a carryout order with wine), but felt uncomfortable if they weren't taking these basic precautions, and we're not going to be able to open up safely until everyone does their part. She said she understood, and the owner wasn't there, but she'd have them call me the next day. That conversation was the last I've heard, and the last they'll hear from me. Fortunately, others continue to behave more responsibly, and I am continuing to enjoy their food and modern riffs on hospitality

Just to note the legal angle in Illinois - in public where distancing is not possible, face masks are required, but only starting May 1. So any places that might not have been doing so two weeks ago, are now required by law to do so.

nsxtasy wrote:Just to note the legal angle in Illinois - in public where distancing is not possible, face masks are required, but only starting May 1. So any places that might not have been doing so two weeks ago, are now required by law to do so.

Yeah, but I imagine the enforcement, especially during curbside/delivery only, is minimal. A colleague walked past the same establishment last week, so in May, and said she was surprised to see people inside without masks, and she had not previously heard me mention my experience. Once on-site service begins, and more people are watching, they will have no choice but to behave properly. I have been patronizing many places, but I am now limiting my choices to places which have publicized their safety measures.

Smassey wrote: I have been patronizing many places, but I am now limiting my choices to places which have publicized their safety measures.

It is certainly a pain in the butt and should not have to be done, but it might make a difference if you email places that you might patronize otherwise and tell them why you are not - they may change their habits.

Check this out.
https://news.yahoo.com/colorado-c-and-c ... x5O7huXPOE
CSD

chicagostyledog wrote:Check this out.
https://news.yahoo.com/colorado-c-and-c ... x5O7huXPOE
CSD

LOL - I guess some places are so shitty that their only chance of success is to be open when every other place is closed.

=R=

Tock raises $10 million to help fancy restaurants do takeout

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/tock-ra ... keout.html

ronnie_suburban wrote:

chicagostyledog wrote:Check this out.
https://news.yahoo.com/colorado-c-and-c ... x5O7huXPOE
CSD

LOL - I guess some places are so shitty that their only chance of success is to be open when every other place is closed.

=R=

Wow, I guess not everyone can ride out a tide of no income as well as others.

Cathy2 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

chicagostyledog wrote:Check this out.
https://news.yahoo.com/colorado-c-and-c ... x5O7huXPOE
CSD

LOL - I guess some places are so shitty that their only chance of success is to be open when every other place is closed.

=R=

Wow, I guess not everyone can ride out a tide of no income as well as others.

Well, not no income. They were doing carry-out before they decided to willfully break the law.

=R=

They had their license taken away by the Colorado Governor indefinitely, which means it could be for a month. Somebody started a go fund me for the restaurant, and they have raised $19,000 as of last night. I am sure they raised more since then. BTW- The hair stylist in Georgia that opened up her shop when she was not supposed to, got arrested, but then was let out of jail. Somebody started a go fund me page for her too, and they have raised even more money.

Chicago’s most anticipated restaurants of 2020 face a coronavirus-battered industry and an uncertain future. Here’s how their opening plans have changed.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavi ... story.html

ronnie_suburban wrote:Well, not no income. They were doing carry-out before they decided to willfully break the law

...and, furthermore, open without distancing, masks, or other safety measures, thereby exposing their staff and customers to a greater risk of coronavirus.

I just looked at their go fund me page, and the restaurant has raised $28,818 so far. Apparently they operate two restaurants. One is in Colorado Springs and the one that was open for Mothers Day. They might need the money in case one of their customers sues them when they come down with the virus.

Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group does not believe his dining rooms will reopen until a vaccine exists.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/danny-meyer-says-nyc-dining-rooms-won-t-reopen-till-covid-vaccine

lodasi wrote:Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group does not believe his dining rooms will reopen until a vaccine exists.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/danny-meyer-says-nyc-dining-rooms-won-t-reopen-till-covid-vaccine

This prompted me to look up Jonas Salk on wikipedia. I was curious under whose auspices he developed the polio vaccine. Turns out it was the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, with major support from the Mellon family. But that wasn't the thing that leapt out at me. What leapt out at me was that it took seven years.

riddlemay wrote:This prompted me to look up Jonas Salk on wikipedia. I was curious under whose auspices he developed the polio vaccine. Turns out it was the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, with major support from the Mellon family. But that wasn't the thing that leapt out at me. What leapt out at me was that it took seven years.

And it is equally important to note than Dr. Albert Sabin at the University of Cincinnati was developing an oral vaccine that was easier to administer and more effective only months behind Salk. From the time that it was first tested until it was widely available throughout the world was about five years.

I guess running a carry out operation is more difficult than I would have guessed. I placed orders with specific pick up times at two restaurants this week and food was fired immediately instead of being pushed back to be ready at the requested time.

Carry out is unlikely to come out as well as in store, but when the food is packed up twenty or thirty minutes before it is scheduled to be picked up, there is no hope.

scottsol wrote:I guess running a carry out operation is more difficult than I would have guessed. I placed orders with specific pick up times at two restaurants this week and food was fired immediately instead of being pushed back to be ready at the requested time.

Carry out is unlikely to come out as well as in store, but when the food is packed up twenty or thirty minutes before it is scheduled to be picked up, there is no hope.

I learned this lesson long ago. Better to show up early than show up on time and my food has been sitting in foil/steaming in foam for 15-20 minutes. I haven't had a problem so far in the corona times, but due to not having a car, I really only like to do carryout at walking distance places of my apartment.

In the past, I generally did what lodasi recommends - arriving 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time, to ensure that I'm picking up the food the minute it's ready.

Now, with curbside pickup in our pandemic world, I don't really want to be hanging around; I want to pull up the minute the food is ready. When I did curbside pickup recently at Prairie Moon (on two occasions), it was even more critical, since I was picking up hot food and a margarita on ice. I phoned ahead to ask them whether it would be ready at exactly the time I reserved so I knew when to pull up, and they assured me that's exactly when it would be coming out of the kitchen, and they were right. Granted, not every place does it so precisely, but it wouldn't hurt to call and ask whether they customarily have the food at the exact time, a bit earlier, or a bit later.

lodasi wrote:

scottsol wrote:I guess running a carry out operation is more difficult than I would have guessed. I placed orders with specific pick up times at two restaurants this week and food was fired immediately instead of being pushed back to be ready at the requested time.

Carry out is unlikely to come out as well as in store, but when the food is packed up twenty or thirty minutes before it is scheduled to be picked up, there is no hope.

I learned this lesson long ago. Better to show up early than show up on time and my food has been sitting in foil/steaming in foam for 15-20 minutes. I haven't had a problem so far in the corona times, but due to not having a car, I really only like to do carryout at walking distance places of my apartment.

I had the opposite happen. I put in an order for a 5:30PM pickup at around 3:30PM in the afternoon. I arrived at the restaurant around 5:10PM and waited in the lengthy line. Someone came to the car and took my name. Finally at about 6:15, the person came back to the car and told me I should have received an e-mail stating my order was delayed. I checked my phone. Sure enough, I had received an e-mail around 6:05 telling me my order was delayed until 8:20. I told them to cancel it and had to find something else. I'm withholding the name because restaurants don't need any other headwind in these strange days. However, I will not order from this restaurant again.