Some restaurants fill up fast; others to wait
House of Prime Rib’s owner and famed friendly face Joe Betz, 81, is feeling like everything is on its way up: He’s gotten his second vaccination shot. Nearly 70 people are on staff again, and about half of them have had at least their first vaccination shot.
And after a brief reopening in the fall, the historic San Francisco steak house is reopening for indoor dining at 25% capacity on Wednesday — and tables are already booked for a good three months, in part due to rescheduling reservations that had to be canceled in the fall.
“We’re going to try our best. We have a strong following,” he said. “And I’m very grateful.”
On Tuesday, San Francisco confirmed that the county had entered the red tier, which al
lows restaurants to open their dining rooms at limited capacity but with additional rules like limiting indoor tables to one household. Unlike past backandforth reopenings, though, restaurateurs are hopeful that this one will stick due to declining cases and the vaccine rollout. Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday that he doesn’t anticipate going backward again, with hopes for a full reopening by August.
Many diners are ready to get back inside, especially at restaurants where fine dining wouldn’t have quite translated to takeout. Playful, twoMichelinstarred Lazy Bear opened up reservations for indoor dining on Monday; with capacity for 23 people a night inside, the first week of dinners starting on March 10 is almost sold out, according to owner David Barzelay.
“There’s a lot of pentup demand,” Barzelay said. “People are ready to come out and have a great time.”
Even throughout the shutdown, one of the city’s premium sushi bars, Omakase, was fielding requests from diners who wanted to know when the Michelinstarred restaurant would open for indoor dining, said Carlos Prieto, operations manager of the Omakase Group, which owns Niku Steakhouse and Omakase. “It’s been a constant for us,” Prieto said, adding that the restaurant is finally starting to take reservations for special indoor dining events.
Still, not every restaurant has high demand for indoor dining, and requests for indoor tables doesn’t mean businesses are going full force immediately. Many restaurants are waiting due to both safety concerns and needing to take time to rehire. Others are limiting tables even beyond the legal restrictions to gauge what diners will want.
Omakase is starting slowly, with one indoor party of up to six people per evening. San Francisco seafood staple Waterbar and Epic Steakhouse haven’t had a ton of requests for indoor tables, so they’re going to offer the option starting on Wednesday to see how many people make reservations.
“We’re going to basically let the demand dictate how busy we will be,” said Pete Sittnick, managing partner for both restaurants.
Dominique Crenn’s three-Michelin-starred French restaurant Atelier Crenn has had high demand for indoor dining. But it will be setting up just one or two tables inside and then gauging the situation before deciding to offer more tables in April. After a whirlwind of a year regarding openings and closings, Crenn is happy to at least reopen outdoor tables at the restaurant to accompany warmer temperatures as her team gets vaccinated.
“There’s been so many back and forth with the official (restrictions),” she said. “The No. 1 thing is for me to protect my team.”
It’s a sign that though the news is promising, the city is not yet out of the clear with the pandemic — something restaurants are watching. Ittoryu Gozu, a Wagyu beef and seafood spot near Rincon Park, has installed a UV irradiation system within the space that “completely decimates any kind of viral component in the air,” according to chef and owner Marc Zimmerman. Betz, despite his vaccine and good vaccination rates on his staff, is planning continued vigilance for maskwearing and temperature checks at the House of Prime Rib.
But the news, many agreed, is a start.
“This last reopening just feels different than the last one, and I think the vaccine is a huge piece of that — that we can all kind of see the end,” said Zimmerman. “I think people are ready to celebrate.”