Patios fill up, but some restaurants balk at reopening right away
Jay’s Restaurant, The Pine Club among many deciding to wait.
Some restaurants that reopened their patios Friday drew robust crowds, even as several other high-profile Dayton-area restaurants decided to wait beyond the lifting of a statewide shut-down order before welcoming their first guests into their dining rooms since mid-March.
The restaurants that opened their patios Friday and plan to open their dining rooms on May 21 as part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s Responsible Restart Ohio program vowed to do it right, with protections in place for their employees and customers.
Some pent-up demand was on display Friday at lunchtime at the large patio at TJ Chumps in Miamisburg, reconfigured with either barriers or six feet of space between tables. The patio was nearly at full capacity by noon. The restaurant opened the patio a half-hour early, at 10 a.m., to space out diners as much as possible.
Customer Cindi Wallace King was among the dozens of diners to turn out, and she took time to speak to a reporter before turning her attention to a plate of chicken wings and a glass of sparkling wine.
“I would have been here on my birthday on May 6 if there was any way to do it,” King said. “I’ve been coming here since the beginning, probably 17 or 18 years. It’s like a home away from home. These people are like family to me.”
Things were quieter at lunchtime across town at Coco’s Bistro in Dayton, which also opened its patio Friday for lunch service. But owner Karen Wick-Gagnet said shortly after noon that she already had reservations for 53 guests on the patio for Friday night’s dinner service.
Christy Fox of Beavercreek,
one of a party of three at the restaurant for lunch, said, “It’s so important for us to support these small businesses. So many jobs and livelihoods are at stake . ... We survived the tornadoes, the shootings — we must not let this virus defeat us.”
Several restaurants are deciding not to join the fight to “Restart Ohio” right away, however, citing concern over the health of their employees and customers, as well as other factors. Two of Dayton’s longest-running restaurants, The Pine Club (1947) and Jay’s Restaurant (1976), are among many that have decided to wait.
In an email Thursday, Karen Watson, general manager of The Pine Club, wrote, “When we do open, we want our staff and customers to feel safe and assured that it’s the right time for our circumstances.”
Jay’s Restaurant owner Amy Haverstick said in an interview that she reached a similar decision, after some agonizing and sleepless nights of trying to decide what to do. She, too, has not set a reopening date.
Thursday night, she posted her decision on the Jay’s Seafood Facebook page, saying, “We are waiting until we feel it is safe for our employees and guests to dine-in again. We do hope to reopen some- time in June.”
Several more restaurants announced their decision to hold off for now on reopening their dining rooms on their social-media pages in the last few days. They include Wheat Penny Oven and Bar in Dayton, Old Scratch Pizza in Dayton and Washington Twp., Sweeney’s Seafood Bar & Grill in Centerville, the Corner Kitchen in Dayton, The Winds Cafe in Yellow Springs, the Sunrise Cafe in Yellow Springs, Sky Asian Cuisine in Kettering, Jimmie’s Ladder 11 in Dayton and Tokyo Sushi & Grill in Centerville.
The Dayton Daily News reported earlier in the week that the owners of the Oak- wood Club, El Meson, Lily’s Bistro, Thai 9 and Sporty’s Taphouse & Grill also will not be opening their din- ing rooms on the first day that restaurants are allowed to do so.
Several other restaurants are still reconfiguring their dining rooms to allow for social distancing and order- ing supplies they need before setting a firm reopening date.
Here’s what Wheat Penny’s owners said about their decision on the restaurant’s Face- book page: “After thought- ful consideration, we have decided NOT to open our patio on May 15 and will also not be opening our dining room on May 21 ... This was a very difficult decision for us, but we feel an overwhelm- ing responsibility to both our staff and to you, our custom- ers, to make sure we have all necessary and tedious details in place before moving forward.”
Old Scratch Pizza’s Face- book-post announcement was accompanied by a photo of a packed Old Scratch dining room, which uses uti- lizes picnic-table-style com- munal bench seating, and said, “Oh, how we would love to return to this. We long for a time when we can again experience that good energy in our dining rooms, and see your smiling faces. We just don’t think we are there yet. We are hopeful that we will be again soon. Maybe not exactly the same, but still together.
“Although Ohio has given the green light to opening our patios this weekend, and dining rooms next week, we have made the decision to continue to focus on Curb- side Carryout for the near future. We would love to welcome you back, but we take our responsibility as an employer and social gather- ing place very seriously.”
The Corner Kitchen’s owners wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page that they
“want to ensure the best experience possible, and the starting point for us is the safety of our guests and our Corner Kitchen staff. We have determined that we are not there yet, so we will not be re-opening our patio on May 15 or indoors on May 21.”
Other restaurant owners decided otherwise. The aforementioned Coco’s Bistro and the Golden Lamb in Lebanon are among those restaurants that opened their patio dining Friday and plan to reopen dine-in service on May 21.
“We do so with a keen eye on safety and the health of our patrons,” Coco’s Bistro’s Wick-Gagnet wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “One of our many blessings is that we have a tremendous amount of space at Coco’s. Measures are being taken to assure suggested separation guidelines for both our customers and staff. Rest assured, we will follow every protocol as established by our partners at Montgomery County Health Department. Additionally, masks, wipes and hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance.
“We understand that we are all being asked to lead here. We understand that leadership looks different to all of us,” Wick-Gagnet wrote.
Some restaurants announced plans late this week specifically for Friday’s lifting of the ban on outdoor seating.
Carmel’s restaurant on the Dayton-Oakwood border has one of the most popular patios in town, but it did not open Friday, owner Bob Byers announced on Facebook.
“I’m just not comfortable we have everything in place to meet the state and local guidelines for your safety, as well as ours,” Byers said. “I don’t want to disappoint you — that has always been our motto here.”
But many patios, including TJ Chumps, did open. The locally based chain has four locations, in Fairborn, Englewood, Huber Heights and Miamisburg.
“Our No. 1 priority continues to be the health and safety of our patrons and employees, as well as continuing to make your TJ Chumps experience an enjoyable one,” the owners wrote. “We thank you for your patience as we establish these new guidelines . ... We look forward to opening again and seeing the faces of our patrons that we’ve missed so much!”