Folks at one of Tacoma’s favorite bars talk about surviving the year of COVID

Nervous. Uncharted. Safe. Resilient.

They were words uttered by owner Russ Heaton and chef Ben Marcus on the eve of the coronavirus shutdown in Washington state one year ago.

Optimists believed it would last two weeks. Others knew it would persist, but few believed life would remain abnormal in 2021.

When Doyle’s Public House closed at midnight on March 17, 2020, it was only the second time in 15 years that the bar did not reopen for normal service the next day. The first time was to honor Heaton’s late friend and a beloved Tacoma bartender, Brian Redman.

Over the course of the year, Heaton did not lay anyone off, instead working with staff to cushion hours as necessary with the state’s workshare program, which allows for partial unemployment pay. The restaurant did not close entirely, instead transitioning to takeout for three months, until the first reopening in early June.

Adapt. Optimistic. Understanding. Community.

Those words permeated the conversation when Heaton and two Doyle’s bartenders of five years, Sarah Stone and Isaiah Hebert, sat down with The News Tribune on Monday, March 8 to talk about the pandemic year and what the next one might bring.

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

RUSS HEATON, owner: “Not that I’m counting the 51 weeks.

I liken it to having a rock in your shoe and you’ve become used to the rock. It doesn’t mean you’re comfortable. It doesn’t mean that it’s good. It just means it’s painful, but you’re learning to deal with the pain — you’re developing a callous — and doing our best to work through it.

No one’s business model ever called for 25 percent of its seating occupancy. At 25 percent, hanging on is hanging on. The government support is nice, and it’s well intentioned, but it can’t go on forever.”

ISAIAH HEBERT, bartender: “The last year has been crazy, obviously, for everyone. From an industry standpoint, it’s been very interesting, very eye-opening.”

SARAH STONE, bartender: “It’s been a year of learning to not only reflect on yourself but how other people are going through this also. It’s just, take it one day at a time. Every shift, whether you’re here or at your house.”

HEATON: “The governor calls the tune, and so we’re dancing to it and doing our best to adhere to what seems to be weekly changes, and also daily changes depending on which enforcement agency pays you a visit that day, and this is how they’re going to be interpreting his dictums.

That’s been the most difficult part: the unknown, traveling down a dark tunnel with no idea what’s ahead of you.”

HEBERT: “All the changes are kind of frustrating as an employee when you have to expel them onto other people. You have to almost babysit an adult to be like, ‘Hey! You can’t sit there. Hey, don’t touch that. Oh hey! Put your mask on.’ It gets frustrating because some people don’t wanna change or adapt. And if they haven’t been out in a year, they come out and think, ‘Cool, it’s a bar again. I get to walk around, have drinks and mingle.’ You can’t really do that anymore, so that part is frustrating. You’ve gotta be very watchful and very mindful of who’s with whom and how many people are there.”

HEATON: “People are asking, ‘What’s gonna happen with St. Patrick’s Day?’ You can’t stand and drink right now, so the idea of a big celebration is off the table. It will be interesting to see what Phase 3 looks like, if there is a Phase 3.

[Reporter’s Note: Gov. Jay Inslee announced the Phase 3 plan Thursday, after our interview. Starting March 22, restaurants statewide can seat up to 50 percent capacity, though Heaton said he would not be able to increase seating due to the continued six-foot rule between tables. Bar seating remains off-limits.]

I never like to think I can speak for all restaurateurs, but no one’s like, ‘Sweet!’ They’re relieved that they get 25 percent. But the unfortunate part is that the ones you’re not hearing anything from are the ones that will never reopen. The untold damage to our community’s dining choices — it will lead to a horrible homogenization of our dining in Tacoma. There will be restaurants that close that nobody even knew were open, and that family will be devastated by that.

That’s the gut punch for my industry: I love to see independently owned, unique establishments, and independently owned, unique establishments are the ones who have been most impacted by this.

It’ll be years before we start to recuperate from this as a dining community.”

STONE: “Your local bar is important because ... it’s just your community. The bartenders and our cooks are all people that our customers form relationships with, and they grow to love and care about. We have people who have never come here before and then they start coming two or three days a week because that’s your home, that’s your heart.”

HEBERT: “It sucks, too, ‘cause people have to stay to themselves, when a bar is normally about, ‘Hey, this is so and so,’ you introduce someone, someone buys someone a drink, and then just boom! [They] mesh.”

STONE: “I feel like we’ve come to a point where we all have a mutual understanding of: We have no control over what’s going on, and we’re all holding on by the seat of our pants just like an everyday customer. They just come in to try and get a little relief, just like we come in and try to get them to do that as well.”

HEATON: “We’re eagerly awaiting actually waiting on guests at their table, as opposed to queuing up in a line at the bar — delivering a better guest experience in that regard. Smiling at our guests ... will be a fun thing to return to.”

HEBERT: “It’s just been very … different, but we’ve been adapting — aesthetically, emotionally, mentally, attitude-wise. We’ve all gained a little more camaraderie from it. It was a tough experience — we gained and lost employees just due to different issues — but all in all we’re just looking toward the brighter side of things in the next couple months.

I feel like for us and a lot of businesses, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. You can see certain potential, like, ‘Wow, this takeout game is crazy.’ ‘Shoot, we can have outdoor seating, too?’ That’s just a whole other section of seats. That’s more money for us and more room for people to come in and have a good time. When things do get back to normal, that’s a whole adaptation that us and other restaurants sort of benefited from.”

HEATON: “I’m professionally hopeful, eternally optimistic that people will return. How quickly is the question, though. We will wait to see how that happens and see at what level and how guests will interact in social spaces with other people. Will they be willing to sit next to each other like they used to? Not on top of each other, but four feet in between as opposed to six?

We’ve done such a good job of making people fearful of each other. It will be interesting to see how people react to being around other people.”

STONE: “I think that with vaccines rolling out, the community itself might find a little peace within their hearts. I’m a little nervous for individual immune systems as they’ve been locked up for the last year, as they’ve been overly cautious and understandably so, but I am happy that vaccines are coming out and they will be helping the most impacted people by this virus.”

HEATON: “The only reason we survived or are making it through is through the generosity of our guests and the amazing people who work here. Their fortitude and willingness to come back to work and deliver a positive guest experience, and continue to do so, is the only reason we are still open today and the only reason we will still be open tomorrow. Thusly, the public house moniker: We’re here for the public.”

HEBERT: “We’re surrounded by apartments, and people who moved from out of state, or people who don’t really know a lot of people around here. A place like this is great for them to network and them to come after work and say, ‘I need to put my feet up and chill and have some good food. I can walk to Doyle’s, or I can walk to Hank’s or I can walk to Rhein Haus.’ It’s very important for people to take a load off and for people to socialize.

Doyle’s will be OK. Russ, he’s the man.”

STONE: “Having your local bar here, and to have them be able to open back up, it’s immense, just like kids going back to school. People need regularity. What we’re all just hoping to get back to is a somewhat normal life again.

I like the phrase, ‘Home is where the heart is,’ and that’s what I think of Tacoma.”