Call ahead before heading out to eat. Some restaurants altering hours because of heat
In preparation for the year’s second heat wave in the Puget Sound region, some area restaurants have preemptively decided to close early or stay quiet through the weekend to protect staff.
Many also closed during the June heat wave, which brought unprecedented temperatures in the triple-digits to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. With open flames and hot ovens, kitchens can become especially dangerous, Spanky’s Burger & Brew owner Alex Ha told McClatchy at the time, and far too many don’t have cooling agents beyond a heavy-duty fan and a walk-in cooler.
This time around, temperatures are a bit lower but still problematic, forecast to reach 93 on Thursday and 97 on Friday in Tacoma, followed by a third day of 90 degrees on Saturday. More cooling centers have opened to accommodate residents.
Restaurants in Pierce and neighboring Thurston County began sounding the alarm Wednesday. Chicory in downtown Olympia said on Instagram it would only serve dinner from 5-6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday “to keep our staff in the back of house cool and safe.”
“Our fingers are crossed that this will be the last heat wave this year!” they wrote.
In Tumwater, wine bar Uncork and Unwind said the kitchen would not serve hot food items like flatbreads and soup. Housed in a 1920s-era building, the restaurant wrote on social media, the air-conditioning unit “can only do so much!”
Others have opted to close shop completely for a couple of days.
The Red Hot in Tacoma said it was, coincidentally, in the process of installing an air-conditioning unit in the kitchen but it would not be complete until September. Staff will be paid for the missed shift, they wrote, adding, “It’s not worth the added risk, so we’re gonna go find somewhere to cool off.”
Inside 7 Seas Brewing downtown, sandwich shop 3uilt said it would close early on Thursday and Friday, serving only breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Some are striving to make it work despite the sweat, including Starvin’ Marvin, a Pierce County food truck that will follow through on its plans to park at the Puyallup Night Market on Thursday and the Lakewood Farmers Market on Friday.
Having to close due to high heat complicates an already tenuous situation for the restaurant industry, which continues to wrestle with the ricochet effect of the ongoing pandemic including stagnated vaccination rates and supply chain headaches.
Some have been compelled to shutter for a few days to test staff after an employee — more often than not already vaccinated — came into contact with a positive COVID-19 case. A handful of Tacoma restaurants and others in Seattle and beyond have announced they would require proof of vaccination to dine indoors.
This week’s voluntary closures due to heat also coincide with new advice from Washington state’s health departments. On Thursday, all 35 agencies issued a joint statement encouraging residents to wear masks in indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 1:06 PM.