Restaurants go into ‘hibernation’ for winter across US during COVID-19 pandemic
A new surge of COVID-19 has prompted many state and local governments to implement stricter regulations for bars and restaurants.
Those restrictions could lead to greater financial loss for businesses in the industry, especially as fewer people choose to dine outside in the cooler temperatures. To keep from permanently shutting down, restaurants across the country are choosing to go into “hibernation,” or closing temporarily until a later date, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
California
Nearly the whole state of California has halted reopening plans and reinstated strict regulations as coronavirus cases surge, according to KTLA. Restaurants in the San Francisco area are closing down for the season with the hope of reopening in a few months, the Chronicle reported.
An indoor dining ban prompted the owners of Prubechu in San Francisco’s Mission District to consider hibernation, according to the Chronicle. The owners received 30 reservation cancellations in one day, the newspaper said.
“Anytime we start getting momentum, it’s just like something else pops up and stops it,” Shawn Camacho, co-owner of Prubechu, told the newspaper. “We haven’t made that decision to shut down for a while yet, but we’ve also never been as close to making that decision as we are right now.”
An Asian fusion restaurant in San Francisco “went into hibernation in March to save money,” the newspaper reported. The executive chef at E&O Kitchen and Bar says a second round of hibernation could happen within the next few weeks, according to the newspaper.
“It’s realistic to say that any restaurant right now is having to maintain the conversation about it,” Sharon Nahm, E&O’s executive chef, told the Chronicle.
Massachusetts
Several restaurants in Boston are in hibernation, the Boston Eater reported. A&B Kitchen and Bar closed for hibernation on Nov. 25, according to a Facebook post from the restaurant’s owner.
“We have fought the good fight and rolled with each and every punch thrown our way since March, but after careful consideration and looking at every possible scenario with our management team, investors, accountants and landlord we’ve all come to the agreement that going into hibernation gives us the best chance,” Thomas Holland, A&B’s owner, wrote in the post.
Holland said in his post that a recently implemented curfew that required restaurants to “stop providing table service at” 9:30 p.m. “was the final straw,” according to the Eater. While Holland hopes to be able to reopen in January, he may have to wait until spring, the post says.
Several other Boston restaurants have also chosen to temporarily close to save money, according to the Eater.
Minnesota
Some restaurants in Minneapolis have made deals with their landlords allowing them to close through the winter and “reopen sometime next year,” KARE reported.
“We tried to make the outdoor dining as big a piece as possible, but it was tough going for a restaurant just starting from scratch,” Andy Cohen, owner of Central N.E. Eat and Drink,” told KARE. “We had to ask, how do we limit the bleeding, so to speak, to give us the best shot at coming out the other side.”
But other restaurants have chosen to scale back operations rather than close outright, according to KARE. Alma Cafe, Hotel and Restaurant stopped offering indoor dining in November, KARE reported.
“Most of us in this industry are just, at this point, trying to survive,” Alex Roberts, chef and owner of Alma Cafe, told KARE.
Other restaurants in Minneapolis are going with “ghost kitchens,” which “produce new food and menus unrelated to their current brand or cuisine,” KARE reported.
“The owner of Red Cow … is using one of his dormant Red Cow kitchens to launch four different take out concepts that never existed before,” said Sharyn Jackson, Star Tribune Food and Drink reporter, according to KARE.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Restaurants go into ‘hibernation’ for winter across US during COVID-19 pandemic."