Restaurants
continues to side with safety, keeping Plae’s reduced capacity in place even with the temporary order halting the rule.
But that has meant saying no to things like large birthday gatherings that used to fill Plae’s reservation book.
“It’s definitely scary. There are times where we don’t have any reservations, and we used to have pages of them,” Bassett said. “Having to pass up guaranteed money, it kills me. It hurts. I don’t want to have to cut employees’ hours more. They have kids and mortgage payments. But I have to go with the safety of everyone before I go for the dollar. ... It’s a struggle.”
Kris Larson, co-owner of Becket’s restaurant, has grown tired of that struggle. Larson’s riverfront restaurant in downtown Oshkosh adhered to the WEDC reopening guides until Evers’ Oct. 6 order, when he slimmed down to 25% capacity, Larson said.
Industry groups, business networks, Republicans and Democrats should stop the political and legal back-andforth, recognize they’re the ones who have to bring some order to operations, and set forth rules that won’t be challenged days or weeks later, he said.
“There are so many conflicting messages. We’ve been left to our own devices and we don’t know what to do any better than scientists or health officials,” Larson said. “It’s a really big ask to ask your local bartender to enforce public safety protocols.”
Sheila Boyles, who owns Sportsman’s Pub & Grille in Wisconsin Rapids, said she and her staff have been abiding by the mandates and changing plans as necessary. Employees have come to expect that once they figure out how to abide by new rules, they’ll change.
“Every day you can expect something to change,” Boyles said. “Another rule to follow or another way to adjust our business to keep having our business.”
Boyles said it’s not just her livelihood that concerns her. Employees have bills to pay and families to support and those concerns grow as the pandemic continues to impact operations.
“That weighs heavy on every owner’s — at least my — day,” she said. “It’s a trickle effect. This affects everyone, and it’s stressful on everyone’s way of life.”
Dorri Schmidt, co-owner of the Dairyland Brew Pub in Appleton, shares the stress, anxiety and confusion. She also thinks about her customers who have to keep up with what rules and regulations are in place at any given time.
“They need media to let them know it is OK to visit and support local bars and restaurants. On every government level, it has been no direction,” Schmidt wrote in an email to a reporter. “I hope the public understands we are not the ones causing troubles in our community. We are the community, too, and are following every step to have our customers be and stay safe as they visit.”
Bennett said Plae has taken the need to inform customers seriously, especially in light of the changing regulatory landscape. An employee responsible for marketing the business posts the day’s menu on social media, along with ordering options (dine-in, curbside, thirdparty delivery) and other key information.
“If we didn’t have a list of thousands of customers and our social media followings ... we wouldn’t be making it,” Bennett said. “We can stay at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Every day, we’re posting pics of food and what’s available. We’re keeping everyone in the loop.”
Morris, owner of Manitowoc’s Courthouse Pub, said the business has stayed at reduced capacity levels and continues to push customers to use its curbside pickup service to survive the ebbs and flows of orders these days. COVID-19 has exacerbated what is already a slower time of the year for the pub after summer.
“But we’re dealing with it one day at a time,” he said, “and hoping that we can see the positive light at the end of the tunnel here pretty soon.”
Larson, of Becket’s in Oshkosh, said business owners may need to take it upon themselves to set standards if local, state or federal government officials continue to send contradictory messages.
“We’re going to be failed by leadership at every turn,” Larson said. “If they expect us to enforce things to keep customers and employees safe, we should think about a unified effort to establish guidelines to follow because it’s becoming clear no one is going to do this the right way.”
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporters Annmarie Hilton, Lydia Slattery, Nusaiba Mizan, Caitlin Shuda, Maureen Wallenfang and Jeff Bollier contributed to this report, as did Carol Deptolla of the Journal Sentinel staff.