REGULAR DAYS
Tears, smiles, hope as restaurants welcome back usual customers, newly vaccinated
It’s been nearly a year since Michael Marchetti has seen some of his older regulars seated in the dining room of his Stamford restaurant, Columbus Park Trattoria. Fearful of the COVID- 19 risk, the seniors stuck to takeout until the weather warmed up, and then nervously ate outdoors in the summer. As winter approached, they went back to takeout- only orders.
But in the past few weeks, Marchetti has seen some of those familiar faces return. Spotting the names of one couple on the reservation list, he told his manager, “I bet they had their vaccines.”
They did, and they were out to celebrate, he said: “The wife came in and gave me a big hug. She said, ‘ We’re here, we’re back.’ ”
As Connecticut’s age- based vaccine rollout continues, restaurant owners are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. For 12 months, they’ve been battered by COVID- 19 and its effects on the economy: indoor dining shutdowns, limited capacity and other restrictions, and waning consumer confidence. But as more state residents get vaccinated and more guests feel comfortable dining out, restaurateurs are starting to see signs of relief .
Marchetti said January business was “brutal” at Columbus Park Trattoria on weeknights like Monday and Tuesday, where he would see four or five seatings the entire night. He said a 10 p. m. closing time, instituted by Gov. Ned Lamont’s office in November as COVID cases spiked, didn’t help. On especially slow nights, they’d wind down dinner service as early as 7: 30 p. m.
But as Connecticut residents are getting their shots, “we haven’t been breaking records, but there’s a little more consistency,” he said. “It feels a little bit normal and people are acting that way.”
“It’s been a year, a long, long time. People want to sit at a bar, order their beer, get a plate of chicken wings and just watch the game on TV. They want to go out to dinner.”
Matt Storch, who owns Match Restaurant in South Norwalk and Match Burger Lobster in Westport, said he hasn’t yet seen many older customers in their 70s and 80s return to his restaurants. He is, however, seeing a lot of guests in the 55- to 65- year- old range — their children’s ages.
“I think their parents have been vaccinated,” he said. “So even if they’re not vaccinated [ themselves], they’re feeling a little more comfortable about coming out.”
The 55- plus age group, eligible for the vaccine as of March 1, makes up a significant portion of Storch’s clientele, so he thinks more guests will return over the next month as they receive their doses.
Scott Dolch, the executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, said the framework of the age- based vaccine rollout is giving restaurant owners a more tangible sense of when they may see more customer turnout.
“I’ve had a lot of good discussion with my restaurateurs, because [ they say] ‘ Listen, a lot of our guests are over the age of 55, or over the age of 45. We didn’t know when they would be vaccinated. We didn’t know how much longer to get through,’ ” he said.
Dolch said he’d heard from several restaurateurs after Valentine’s Day, who called to say — like Marchetti — that they’d seen regulars in their 70s return to dining rooms that weekend, with vaccination card in hand, thrilled to be out to dinner after a long and stressful year.
In New Haven, Jason Sobocinski is also expecting a successful spring and summer, as the weather warms and diners’ consumer confidence builds with more vaccinations. He and his business partners reopened Ordinary, their Chapel Street cocktail bar, in late February as Gov. Lamont extended the restaurant curfew to 11 p. m.
“We’re staying within our parameters; everyone’s spread out,” he said. “But we’re seeing more reservations starting to get booked, and even more so in the subsequent weeks. So that’s exciting to see.”
Wedding bookings are another hopeful sign, he said. Olmo on Whitney Avenue, where he is a co- owner, has 20 to 25 weddings on its catering schedule from August to November.
Dolch also said the age- based vaccine timeline is helping set realistic expectations for those planning weddings and celebrations this year.
“It’s not [ just] going to be grandparents, but by the time we get to the June wedding, the parents [ of the couple] will probably have both vaccinations if they’re from Connecticut,” he said. “The timeline, I hope it stays accurate ... and I hope we have enough vaccines, but I think it could be a really, really good thing for what the summer could look like.”
Marchetti has booked a “couple dozen” bridal showers, baby showers and rehearsal dinners for late May and beyond, he said. But one key piece of revenue — business and corporate dinners — is still largely missing, and he’s not sure when it will return.
“If it’s a big company [ with local presence] that has a global or national presence, those companies there tend to operate on the more conservative level and will say they’re not planning on being back in the office until the fourth quarter of 2021, first quarter of 2022,” he said. “Whereas a smaller firm that can move and navigate these situations a little more freely ... could change on the fly and say hey, things are looking great, we’ll be back in the office by spring.”
Storch said his restaurants are missing the business- related revenue as well. His customers who work in sales have lamented the pause on business entertaining, he said, as they find it much more difficult to close a deal “through a computer” than over lunch or dinner.
“That world hasn’t really started yet, and I don’t know what kick- starts that,” he said. “My guess would be customer confidence, and the state saying we’re going to lift restrictions, everyone can go back to work and entertain now.”
But as his guests return to the restaurant, Marchetti says he can see the joy on their faces. In late February, he said hello to an older couple taking their seats, and the woman hugged him, with tears in her eyes. “She said,
‘ We’re finally out; it's been a year. It feels so good to be talking to people. We're so happy that you’re here, that you’re open. We got our vaccines, and we feel like we can live again.’ ”