‘The heartbeat ... is gone’
Orlando restaurants report frustrations, success as they reopen
Before the coronavirus pandemic, revelers and third-shift workers in Orlando’s Milk District could count on Pom Pom’s Teahouse & Sandwicheria being open all night on weekends.
The Bumby Avenue restaurant known for its Thanksgiving sandwich may never be able to stay open 24 hours again, owner Pom Moonguaklang said.
“I don’t think the economy can support it,” she said. “The heartbeat of the restaurant is gone, and the heartbeat is our customers.”
As the state allows dining rooms to operate again after their closures because of the pandemic, Central Florida restaurants have faced mixed results. Even as taxpayer-backed loans have helped some restaurants survive, the businesses still face the challenges of keeping employees safe from the virus and luring back wary customers.
But some have reported noticeable improvement.
Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café in downtown Sanford saw business plummet during the shutdown, but owner Christina Hollerbach said for the week ending May 24 it was only down about 2% compared with last year.
“The weekends are starting to feel like old Sanford again,” Hollerbach said. “It felt really good to walk through the town and know people are coming.”
Hollerbach’s bounces back
The large size of popular German restaurant Hollerbach’s, which was about to complete an expansion when coronavirus hit, as well as the open-air atmosphere of downtown Sanford has helped the restaurant’s numbers improve, Hollerbach said.
“We can provide social distancing … and still seat people,” she said.
Hollerbach’s, which opened back up in early May when it was first allowed, is getting even more seats with its new upstairs area now opening, including a rooftop beer garden.
Many of its employees also have returned to work. Hollerbach’s had to lay off more than 50 people because of the pandemic while keeping another nearly 50 on the payroll.
Most staffers who wanted to come back have, with some moving on, leading to about 70 to 80 people now working at the restaurant, Hollerbach said.
The business got some help paying its rent and staff, receiving a $300,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan from Washington, according to Hollerbach.
“Having that PPP allowed us that window and grace period to go, ‘At least we know for the next two months we’re going to be OK,’” Hollerbach said.
By the beach
The pandemic hit Third Wave Cafe & Wine Bar in its busiest season, when spring breakers and New Smyrna Beach locals would enjoy the good weather while eating roasted octopus or short rib in outdoor seating not far from the beach.
The statewide closure of dining rooms reduced business to about 20% compared with the previous year, and since reopening that figure has improved to about 65%, owners Kathy and Wayne Lundberg said.
Third Wave, on the popular tourist strip of Flagler Avenue, opened its outdoor dining area the Thursday after it was allowed to but then faced a different challenge with restricted capacity.
“I have people we cannot get in,” said Kathy Lundberg.
The restaurant averaged 55 to 60 employees and had to furlough all but about 12 people when it went to takeout only. Now, the staff has returned with the exception of a few who either moved or opted not to come back, Lundberg said.
Helping the business to bring back its employees was an about $300,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, Lundberg said.
“We would’ve been in a dire situation,” she said, without that loan.
But other challenges for staffers remain. With employees wearing masks and the Florida weather heating up in an outdoor dining area, workers are now having to take breaks in the air conditioning to cool down every 15 or 20 minutes, Lundberg said.
And while the nearby beach has seen crowds of visitors, Lundberg said most of the customers at Third Wave have been its regulars.
“I think Flagler Avenue’s pretty hopping,” she said.
‘Make sure we were safe’
Plants have been placed on every other table at Orlando’s Black Bean Deli on Colonial Drive to keep the required distance between customers munching on Cuban sandwiches and sipping café con leche on the restaurant’s patio.
Outdoor seating at both of the restaurant’s locations — the other is in Winter Park — has been open for about two weeks, and inside dining was back Monday, owner Andres Corton said.
Those dining rooms are set to open nearly a month after Gov. Ron DeSantis first allowed restaurants to open at 25% capacity, a restriction that has since been eased to 50% capacity.
“I just wanted to make sure we were safe,” Corton said.
Some of the precautions at his restaurant will include plexiglass dividers separating staff from customers as well as masks for employees.
The Cuban cafe was only doing about half its business when it was operating on just takeout and delivery, and Corton said having the patio open has helped slightly, primarily at the Colonial restaurant.
Corton said the restaurants employed 80 people and estimated about 15 to 20 of them decided to leave during the pandemic because they were not comfortable working. The restaurant is now hiring, looking to add about 10 employees.
Even with his dining rooms set to reopen, Corton wonders if the restaurant will see more solo diners or groups of two coming out instead of bigger groups or lunch meetups.
“It’s so hard to tell,” he said.
‘A reset’
At Pom Pom’s, business was down about 80% early on in the pandemic compared with the previous year, but it slowly improved to down only 35% to 40% because of the restaurant’s takeout and delivery business, Moonguaklang said. The restaurant opened for customers who want to eat there once it was allowed to have 50% occupancy.
But the numbers aren’t improving, she said.
“We’re doing just about the same numbers as we were doing a month ago,” she said. “I feel that opening up, it hasn’t made that big of an impact.”
The restaurant doesn’t have a patio but has four tables on the sidewalk outside and people have been tailgating in the parking lot.
Pom Pom’s had nearly 30 employees and was down to 12 staffers as people left because they weren’t comfortable working, Moongauklang said. She has brought three workers back and also plans to hire about 10 more people.
Helping to save the restaurant, which Moongauklang said was behind on rent, and its staff was a $95,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan the restaurant received this month.
The pandemic has also pushed Moongauklang to be more creative in order to survive. She plans to collaborate with MX Taco to open a shaved ice business at 205 Bumby Ave., the location of her commissary where food preparation work, like slicing meat, is done for Pom Pom’s.
The hope is the new venture will help pay the rent for the commissary.
“It’s a reset for us,” Moongauklang said.