Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Some Eateries Not Ready For Dine-In
Owners Consider Ways They Can Serve Customers
FARMINGTON — Owners of several locally owned restaurants indicated last week they will not open for dine-in business on May 11, as now allowed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
“I’m erring on the side of caution, even in my personal life,” said Chris McAlexander, owner of Coyle’s Family Restaurant in Prairie Grove. “I don’t feel we’re at the point where we can safely say someone can come in and sit down to eat.”
Hutchinson announced last week that restaurants in the state could open for dine-in customers under phase- in plan with limitations beginning May 11.
Measures put in place for Phase 1 include limiting occupancy to one-third of capacity as set by the fire marshal and spacing tables at least 10 feet apart.
Servers must wear gloves and masks. Customers also are required to wear masks until their food or drink is served. A restaurant can decline to provide service if the customer is not wearing a mask.
In addition, restaurants must screen their employees and clean and disinfect tables and menus after each meal.
Coyles was open for takeout and pickup during the first part of the covid-19 outbreak but then McAlexander decided to close for safety reasons. The restaurant recently
reopened on the weekends for customers to order “take-andbake” casseroles.
She said the restaurant plans to open Thursday, May 7, for customers to order takeout from a modified menu. It will be open for takeout during the evening hours, from 5-8 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday.
If all goes well, McAlexander said, the restaurant plans to open for dine-in customers during Phase 3 of the governor’s plan to reopen the state. Phase 2 allows occupancy to rise to two-thirds capacity while maintaining social distance requirements. The third and final phase allows restaurants to resume business as normal.
McAlexander said she has several concerns but especially one about the safety of her staff and customers.
“We don’t feel comfortable opening up with 30% and everyone having to wear a face mask,” said Mclexander. “With all the sanitizing required, I’m already having a hard time finding gloves. My usual supplier either doesn’t have them or the price has tripled. I have face masks but cannot find handsanitizer.”
Larry Bowden, owner of Briar Rose Bakery, said the business would not be able to make money with one-third occupancy. He noted that one-third of his costs is labor; one-third is overhead, and one-third is supplies.
“Our business model is you can’t make enough revenue to pay your bills,” Bowden said. “We would be losing money every day we’re open.”
He added, “We concluded we wouldn’t do it.”
Briar Rose is open for takeout and is doing about 25-30% of its normal business, Bowden said.
In addition, he noted the bakery is unique in that it has display cases of its baked goods for people to view and then order. It’s hard to keep social distancing with the display cases, he said.
Amy Ezell, who owns Burgerland with her husband Jay Ezell, also said she is leaning toward not opening for dine-in service.
“In all honesty, there are so many restrictions,” Ezell said. “We want to open it but I think it will be extremely hard to make customers wear face masks. Will people be understanding or will they get upset? I think it will be hard to implement.”
Burgerland has been open for drive-through service and curbside pickup. The restaurant also has outside tables and some customers have used those to eat their meals.
“It’s worked well,” Ezell said. “The local support has been amazing. My heart goes out to our customers.”
She said she and her husband have used the time to remodel and revamp their restaurant.
“It’s been hard, I’m not going to lie,” Ezell said. “But I know we’re not the only ones hurting.”
Brenda Harris, owner of Jim’s Razorback Pizza in Prairie Grove, said she will make a final decision before May 11 but she does not believe she will open for dine-in business during Phase 1.
“There’s too many stipulations,” Harris said, noting at 30% occupancy she can have 30 people in the restaurant.
“If the positives (of covid19) keep going up, I’m not putting my staff out there,” Harris said. “When we had 700 positives, we shut everything down and now with 3,000 positives, we’re opening back up. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Jim’s Razorback has had curbside and takeout delivery during the outbreak.
One concern is making sure customers wear their face masks, Harris said.
“We’re small town Prairie Grove. We know each other. Do I tell them after they finish eating to put their face masks back on and that they have to leave? I’m not the mask police,” she said.
Harris will continue to watch the situation and will hold off on a final decision until May 11, “but I’m thinking I don’t want to take the chance with my employees and customers.”