Keeping my Tacoma restaurant closed in Phase 2 is a tough but necessary call

Lately, news coverage has focused on which Pierce County restaurants threw open their doors as soon as the bell rang on Phase 2 of the Safe Start Washington plan.

We have been getting daily phone calls asking when Pacific Grill will reopen. Many fellow restaurateurs have also privately messaged me to sound out our rationale for waiting.

In this rush to reopen, few are talking about the restaurants that have made the incredibly tough, deliberate decision to keep our dining rooms closed. At Pacific Grill, we decided early on to wait for Phase 3, and we’ve heard from other restaurateurs doing the same

It is important for people to know the mindset behind this decision because it has indications for what is to come.

Make no mistake: Nearly all restaurants want to reopen as soon as possible and prudent. We are chefs who got into this line of work because we love cooking and making food for people to enjoy. We are community advocates who built spaces for people to gather over a meal or a drink (or two). We are employers, who have families – our own and others – that depend on revenue coming in.

You won’t find many introverts owning restaurants. It is in our nature to want to be open. Yet I did not feel we needed to be a COVID-19 canary in the coalmine.

I suspected the restaurants that opened early might face issues we hadn’t considered, or problems we could learn from and avoid. And although we received a federal Paycheck Protection loan, it is ridiculously expensive to get caught up on all bills, and a second shutdown might be the last.

I see photos of packed restaurants and bars on social media, see the virus again surging, and I get angry that they may jeopardize our future. We try to throw a great party every night for our guests, but it has to be done safely.

We are held to strict oversight by federal, state and county government.. But we want to make sure we’ve considered everything to keep our staff safe. Last year my restaurant served over 126,000 people.

Many of us have learned that when people gather in our spaces, masks come off, social barriers come down and distance is hard to keep. While we can control the sanitation of kitchens and dining rooms, there is much we can’t control, and we don’t want to risk our staff or guests getting sick.

The virus numbers are not yet on a healthy declining trajectory toward elimination. Over the past couple weeks, we have seen the results of premature or irresponsible reopening in dozens of states, including our own.

Sadly it seems to justify our decision to remain closed.

The decision to reopen is an individual one, and it involves hundreds of decisions. With large overhead costs, restaurants typically operate on the narrowest of margins during the best of times. One restaurant might lose money operating at 50% capacity, but could turn a profit at 75%. Others need near 100% crowds.

But the factor driving much of the decision-making is human.

Washington’s leisure and hospitality industry has lost more than 160,000 jobs over the last year due mainly to COVID-19. That is nearly three times the next-worst-hit sector. These are our friends, colleagues and families.

Thankfully, the additional $600 in weekly federal unemployment benefits as part of the CARES Act has provided a soft landing to many. But those benefits are set to expire at the end of July, which may force our hand to reopen if we are to keep our staff.

Aug. 1 is when many restaurants will feel pressure to reopen. It is not a firm date but a collective hope that we will reach Phase 3 by then.

In the end, each restaurateur is the expert in his or her own financial situation, guests and safety standards. Many restaurants assessed their circumstances and found their time arrived at the beginning of Phase 2.

I support these restaurants and their decisions, and hope to join them in Phase 3. Then we can welcome you all back to Pacific Grill to help us celebrate 15 years in Tacoma.

Gordon Naccarato is the owner/chef of Pacific Grill and Pacific Grill Events and Catering. His other Tacoma enterprises include the Hot Shop Cafe at the Museum of Glass and the Shake Shake Shake diner.