Eateries, malls get ready to reopen

But one owner says, ‘You can’t operate a business on 25%’

Restaurants from Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café to Olive Garden are getting ready to reopen, but Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to slowly restart the state’s economy won’t ease the pain for every business and worker hurt by coronavirus.

“I think he missed the mark,” said Chuck Whittall, president and CEO of Unicorp National Developments. “He wants to flatten the virus, but he’s killing livelihoods.”

DeSantis is allowing restaurants and retailers in much of the state to reopen Monday with 25% capacity indoors as well as outside seating with social distancing. Nail and hair salons along with movie theaters will remain shuttered.

Several shopping centers across the Orlando area, including Florida Mall and Oviedo Mall, are expected to open their doors Monday.

Whittall, whose developments include Icon Orlando on International Drive and the Trader Joe’s plaza in Winter Park, would have liked to see hair and nail salons back in business and restaurants allowed

to operate at 50%.

He also owns Slate Restaurant on Sand Lake Road, which he plans to reopen on Mother’s Day after bringing back 12 to 15 of the 50 workers he had to let go in addition to five he kept on staff.

“You can’t operate a business on 25%,” Whittall said.

Restaurants reopening

Darden Restaurants, the Orlando-based owner of Olive Garden, Long-Horn Steakhouse and other chains, is preparing to reopen its dining rooms on Monday in the areas where they are permitted to do so, spokesman Rich Jeffers said. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were excluded from the state’s plan.

The company — which also owns Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s — has about 170 restaurants in the areas in Florida that will be allowed to open up again on Monday, Jeffers said.

Darden, which has more than 1,800 total restaurants, has already reopened in Georgia and some counties in Tennessee. With restrictions on how many people can be inside, staffing will depend on local guidelines, and employees will wear masks and be subject to daily temperature checks.

Another restaurant requiring temperature checks for staff is downtown Sanford’s popular Hollerbach’s, which has already set up its recently expanded dining room for social distancing. With a normal occupancy of 665, it will reopen and serve about 100 guests, less than what’s allowed, owner Christina Hollerbach said.

The restaurant has “enough space that we can keep people distant but also still make it profitable,” she said.

Hollerbach’s had to lay off about 50 workers because of coronavirus and will also look to bring back 12 to 15 in addition to the nearly 50 it kept on the payroll.

Tables will have hand sanitizer, servers will wear masks, and chairs and tables will be sanitized between guests, Hollerbach said. Customers will be discouraged from ordering the restaurant’s popular “das boot," a 2or 3- liter glass of beer shaped like a boot and shared among a team of four or five people.

While Hollerbach is excited about getting people back to work, she also had some trepidation.

“No one wants to be the place where they were exposed to a virus,” she said.

Damage done

Oviedo Mall also plans to open its doors Monday, general manager Kevin Hipes said.

“I think we have to open initially and see how the community feels about it,” he said.

The mall’s Regal theater will remain shuttered, potentially hurting food court restaurants, Hipes said. He is also the owner of the shopping center’s Mooyah Burgers.

“I think malls, in general, are going to be hurt,” Hipes said. “Many chains may use this as an opportunity to close stores that maybe were on the edge of being profitable.”

Oviedo Mall has already seen the departures of national retailers including Macy’s, Sears and Victoria’s Secret stores. A developer plans to tear down the empty Macy’s store and build hundreds of apartments and a hotel.

“Because we’re redeveloping, I don’t see us getting hurt very much,” Hipes said.

Florida Mall, Orlando International Premium Outlets, Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets and Orlando Outlet Marketplace are all expected to open Monday, according to their owner, Simon.

At Unicorp properties, Whittall’s staff has been contacting tenants about reopening. He said he is having conversations with some who have said they can’t open again in order to figure out how they can survive.

In downtown DeLand, renowned Cress Restaurant is looking to reopen its dining room later next week, but not on Monday as the restaurant plans to minimize contact between staff and guests, executive chef and co-owner Hari Pulapaka said.

Cress will be able to seat 10 people inside with the 25% restriction. On its own, that amount wouldn’t be worth it from a financial perspective, but it is an additional revenue source to go with takeout business, Pulapaka said.

His restaurant plans to bring back the six employees it had to temporarily let go to rejoin the four who kept working, but Pulapaka added no matter the capacity, the damage has already been done to some restaurants.

“The dining landscape has changed,” Pulapaka said. “The number of small, independent restaurants is going to get smaller. That’s just the reality.”