Local restaurants scramble to reopen by end of the week
Some look at it as an opportunity to make a second ‘first impression’ on customers
Even though Aaron Lyons’ restaurants are well known to the Houston dining public, the owner of Dish Society said Friday’s reopening will feel like he’s reintroducing his concept to local foodies.
“This is an opportunity to make a first impression for guests who are looking at your restaurant with a different lens,” he said. “You only get one shot at this.”
That shot is the limited dine-in service that Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday in a sweeping plan to restart a state economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Texas restaurants will be allowed to accommodate guests at 25 percent capacity.
Houston restaurant operators were scrambling Tuesday to prepare for how to manage even 25 percent, as many had restructured to provide curbside pickup and delivery when the dine-in ban began. There’s staff to rehire and retrain, food that must be ordered, a physical re-spacing of tables and seats, menu considerations, and then the multiple minimum standard health protocols set out by the state in conjunction with the Texas Restaurant Association.
“To do it right, you have to be careful,” said Lyons, who has five Dish Society locations in Houston and Katy. “We’re going to do this right, and we’re going to take as much time as we need to feel comfortable. Our first and foremost priority is the health and welfare of our team and our guests.”
Most restaurants will control capacity by requiring reservations to limit walk-in traffic. If a restaurant reaches capacity, guests would go on a waitlist and be asked to wait outside, spaced apart or in their cars.
A reservation for popular restaurants will be essential. Just hours after Abbott’s announcement Monday, the posh Steak 48 at River Oaks District sold out of available reservations for Friday.
“Reservations are required, masks aren’t,” Fielding’s Grill posted on social media. One would-be diner said she was asked about her health and whether she had traveled outside Texas when she called to reserve a table.
Concerns for worker and customer safety were echoed throughout the Houston restau
rant community as owners began plotting how and when they should reopen at limited capacity.
Not everyone will be ready. Some restaurateurs are deliberately slowing their reopening; some are waiting until May 18, when phase two of Abbott’s plan may allow businesses to expand capacity to 50 percent.
Tracy Vaught of H-Town Restaurant Group said her restaurants — Hugo’s, Backstreet Cafe, Caracol and Xochi — will not reopen Friday. The take-away and delivery programs at Hugo’s and Backstreet Cafe, coupled with outstanding commitments for Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day, has her staff well-occupied, she said.
“I felt like it could be too much for us,” Vaught said. “It’s also a little bit early. I know a lot of people are still pretty nervous about going out. It’s going to take time for people to get comfortable dining out again.”
Backstreet Cafe and Hugo’s likely will reopen May 18, Vaught said. At that time, Caracol will be evaluated. And Xochi, in the Marriott Marquis downtown, will reopen once the hotel gains occupancy.
Pushing back reopening gives the H-Town group a chance to plan for a more comfortable and strategic return to dining room service, she said.
“We have an opportunity to shake it up and reorder things. I never thought we’d have that opportunity,” Vaught said. “I want people to have faith in us. I want them to trust us.”
Much of that trust will have to do with implementing the health protocols set out by the state, which includes keeping parties in the dining room at least 6 feet apart, hand sanitizing stations at the entry, seating for no more than six guests at a table, disposable menus, employee training, employee screenings before going to work, and contactless payment where possible.
At Pinkerton’s Barbecue on Tuesday, owner Grant Pinkerton and his fiancée, Sarah McQuillan, were measuring to make sure patio tables were 6 feet apart. When the restaurant opens Friday, dine-in will be limited to the patio, but it will continue to take walk-in and online orders for pickup.
Levi Goode, owner of the multi-concept Goode Company, has taken the unusual step of providing COVID-19 testing for all employees to ensure a safe work environment for staff and guests. To date, 157 Goode Company employees have been tested for the coronavirus; none tested positive.
“We felt very strongly about taking extraordinary precautionary measures to make sure our staff is as safe as possible for the customers and communities we serve,” Goode said.
He will begin a measured roll-out next week, when he expects to reopen Goode Co. Barbecue restaurants on Kirby and on Katy Freeway; Goode Company Kitchen & Cantina on Katy Freeway and in The Woodlands; Goode Co. Taqueria on Kirby; and Goode Co. Seafood on
Katy Freeway. (The Westpark seafood location will remain curbside.)
Workers at the reopened locations will have been tested and will undergo temperature checks when they begin their shifts.
Kiran Verma, owner of Kiran’s on Richmond, said she can’t wait to open Friday for dinner service. May 1 will mark the debut of an expanded Kiran’s, which recently took over the closed MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Company next door. With a new capacity of 372, Verma will be able to accommodate more than 90 guests at a time for her upscale Indian menu.
“It’s not easy for a small business to run with to-go orders only,” she said. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to open. But I want to make sure everyone stays safe. We’re following all the guidelines.”
Those safety concerns are paramount in re-establishing restaurant operations and getting employees back to work. Nearly 700,000 restaurant jobs have been lost in Texas since the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Texas Restaurant Association.
Of the nearly 50,000 restaurants in Texas, a full 10 percent already have closed. That number is expected to grow to 30 percent by September “if we don’t have a sustainable recovery,” said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the TRA.
Knight acknowledged that reopening this week would not be possible for all restaurants, given considerations such as employee hiring and training, purchasing and the disruption of the normal supply chain.
“There’s a lot to be done between now and Friday. There will be those who look at the economics and decide to keep with delivery and takeaway. It may be safer to keep going that way a couple of weeks,” Knight said. “You’ll see restaurants that reopen and some that wait to see how things unfold.”
It’s important not to rush but to get it right, she said.
“We tell them, you open when you’re ready,” Knight said. “We want you to do it right and do it safely. We want the long gain.”
That’s why Lyons is only opening his Dish Society patios. Guests will be seated appropriately spaced and order food to eat on the patio or take-away.
There will be outdoor handwashing stations, and guests will be permitted to enter the restaurant only to use the bathroom and must be wearing a face mask. Dish Society will do this for a week beginning May 1, then Lyons will evaluate whether to allow indoor dining.
“You can get caught in a false start,” he said. “We’re not in a rush.”
Neither is Goode. But the CEO of the iconic Houston restaurant brand is ready to get back in business. He calls Friday’s limited reopening a glimmer of hope.
“It’s been a tough time for everyone,” he said. “The tides are turning to get back to whatever the new normal is.”