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Editor’s note: With the anniversary of Monterey County’s shelter-in-place order coming up Wednesday, we asked several of the area’s movers and shakers to reflect on how they felt when the order came down, what they thought we were in for and what surprised them in the ensuing months. This is the third in a series of articles on their reflections.
Local restaurants seemed split on what they would do March 16, 2020, in the wake of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call to close bars, pubs and wineries and restrict restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many local officials saw it as a recommendation, not a mandate. Some restaurant owners made plans to stick it out and remain open. Others closed their restaurants or moved to takeout only.
But when the county’s shelterin-place order came out the next day, the option to remain open indoors for diners ended.
“Frankly, I did not believe such an order would take place,” said Monterey’s Chris Shake, whose restaurants include Old Fisherman’s Grotto and Scales Seafood and Steaks among others. “My thoughts were that these things happen in other countries, not the USA.”
Shake said one of his primary concerns was taking care of his employees as a large portion of restaurant workers all over the county were being laid off.
Shake said he and his brother, fellow restaurant owner Sabu Shake Jr., started by telling their employees what they knew, which wasn’t much.
“My brother and I had an obligation to our employees to let them know that we will all get through this together,” Shake said. “I thought after a week or two it would be business as usual. As each week went by it started to hit me personally and mentally that the virus was not going away anytime soon.”
There were several starts and stops on the way. There were new guidelines to follow to partially reopen, equipment to be purchased to enable outdoor dining.
“Our company retained a food safety instructor to train and certify all of our 350 employees so that they all understood the importance of providing a clean, healthy and safe work environment,” Shake said. “We have spent thousands and thousands of dollars in COVID-19 training, (buying) heaters, Plexiglas, outdoor furniture, umbrellas, retrofitting and tents.”
That kind of investment drove some restaurants out of business. Shake points out the millions of dollars the restaurants have lost in revenues while continuing to pay rent and meet payrolls.
Ted Balestreri
For some business owners, it felt like the state could do a better job of lifting the burden.
“As we saw the impact of the pandemic spread through other parts of the world, it became clear that further precautions would be necessary to ensure our health and safety,” said Ted Balestreri, CEO of the Cannery Row Co. and co-founder of the Sardine Factory restaurant. “But, I never expected we would reach a point where we would see such an extended shutdown of the restaurant and hospitality industry here in California.
“I had no idea that the shelter in place and subsequent operating restrictions would be so egregiously disproportionate and devastating in impact to the restaurant and hospitality industry in comparison to others.”
Balestreri and others had hoped California would ease restrictions earlier, allowing businesses to reopen and get more people back to work.
“This will have a tremendous economic impact that will be felt for some time,” Balestreri said. “But, in time, I’m positive the restaurant and hospitality industry will come back even stronger than before.”
Rob O’Keefe
As the president and CEO of the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau, part of Rob O’Keefe’s job is keeping tabs on international tourism. In early 2020, he could see the storm clouds gathering.
“We were very aware of what was happening in China, as that is a key international market for us,” O’Keefe said. “We saw the rapid escalation of the crisis in such a short time, and I knew we were dealing with something not dealt with before … so that our state would order a shelter in place, while shocking, was not surprising.
Considering hospitality is a major economic driver in the county, especially on the Monterey Peninsula, local officials were greatly concerned about the economic impact.
“There were indications that drastic action was needed and would be taken. But we had already begun strategizing and putting an action plan into place before the (shelter in place) was called.”
Considering hospitality is a major economic driver in the county, especially on the Monterey Peninsula, local officials were greatly concerned about the economic impact.
“Like all hospitality businesses, we had to make the devastating decision to reduce staff,” O’Keefe said. “We had to cut by nearly 80%. The pandemic’s immediate impact has been swift and personal.”
And like so many businesses, the visitor’s bureau had to pivot and adjust.
“Just like any crisis, (the visitor’s bureau) shifted from promotions to crisis communications,” O’Keefe said. “We developed new messaging for our website, email distributions, social media and for our team to inform travelers planning a trip and for travelers already visiting our county and wondering what to do.
“We also were in constant communication with our hospitality businesses and chambers of commerce, and with our jurisdiction partners — the county and the cities — to plan impact and implement an action plan.”
“There was no playbook for a pandemic,” O’Keefe said, so a lot of learning and planning had to be done on thefly.
“We moved to take decisive action to develop a plan, including the worst-case scenario,” O’Keefe said. “In that, we also learned that we needed to be flexible, adaptable and ready to quickly shift our plan at any moment. That strategy has guided our recovery ever since.”