Finding a recipe so restaurants can thrive
As dinner companions go, surrounding Gov. Ned Lamont with 1,100 members of Connecticut’s restaurant industry would seem akin to seating Taylor Swift and Kanye West together for a yuletide supper. But the ever-affable Lamont summoned his most reassuring dinner conversation as he addressed the Connecticut Restaurant Industry in a casino ballroom Monday night.
Restaurant owner and Republican state lawmaker Dave Rutigliano dished some blunt context: “(Lamont) hasn’t exactly been a friend of the industry. I find it shocking he’s been invited.”
The rest of the crowd did not consist of Republican legislators, but it’s understandable that they would be wary of a governor who closed their dining rooms on St. Patrick’s Day 2020.
They did what good hosts do, and offered their guest a chance to speak.
Lamont didn’t shy away from revisiting how he paced the slow recovery of the industry during the 21 months of the pandemic. The event itself was something of an exclamation point to the timeline, as it brought 1,100 people to the table at Foxwoods Resort Casino even though 500 new infections were reported statewide the same day.
Then the governor served sweet news like a dessert, promising the crowd, “You’re staying open.”
“We’re getting through this together. And I’m looking forward to going to each and every one of your restaurants as soon as I can,” Lamont pledged.
Now that sounds like the hyperbolic promise of a governor back on the campaign trail.
Of course, all 1,101 people in the room — as well as the rest of the state — hope he’s right about keeping the doors open. But restauranteurs (as well as everyone who eats) should brace for another pivot.
The COVID-19 positivity rate lapped past 8 percent the next day, and there were 50 more hospitalizations in Connecticut another 24 hours later. These represented the largest bumps in a single day since the height of the pandemic more than a year ago.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to cancel those holiday dinner reservations, but it is a reminder of the wisdom of caution.
Monday’s seemingly awkward event was a demonstration of the power of collaboration. The head of the Connecticut Restaurant Association hired political consultants to help maintain a civil discourse with the governor’s office through this crisis. And Lamont was right to point out that “you would have thought that we were polar extremes when we realized how much we had in common.”
Not every restaurant has survived. Many that did had to get creative, like a chef short of spices who is forced to toss away the recipe and come up with something original.
It has also required considerable collaboration with towns to explore options such as outdoor dining and inventive takeout methods.
Such innovations have made the Connecticut restaurant industry stronger. Still, this is no time to pour an after-dinner drink and relax. The glass is still half-empty due to this stubborn pandemic. But it is half-full because of partnerships like the one between the restaurants and the governor’s office.
It’s a reminder that in the end, we’re all at the same table.
Not every restaurant has survived. Many that did had to get creative, like a chef short of spices who is forced to toss away the recipe and come up with something original.