Read on Twitter
Ok! So I’m about to get a vasectomy, so sounds like a great time to fire off a couple tweets. Also took a prescribed Valium so here we go. https://twitter.com/foodbynorth/status/1265376891965489153
The BIGGEST problem with dining rooms opening is HVAC. That the air conditioning/heating systems in commercial buildings. They work by sucking in return air from the dining room, mixing in fresh air (sometimes, depending on the system), chilling it and then forcing it back out.
There a study of a restaurant in China where a infected patron spread covid not to just folks eating with him, but to random patrons within the dining room, based on where the HVAC was pushing the airflow. As we move into the summer season, everyone is going to have their AC on.
The second cause of airflow concerns is restaurant holds, especially in open/semi open kitchen. Hoods create massive airflow pressure - it’s needed to pull up all the smoke and grease that comes with restaurant cooking. Like 1000x more powerful than the hood you have at home.
When a guest walks into the restaurant with a distinctive perfume on, we immediately smell in in the kitchen at @bigkingpvd . Even if they are 100ft away. The implications of this airflow issue is huge, and honestly an issue that every restaurant dining room faces.
There’s a lot more to this, but it’s knife time. Brb
Wasn’t knife time, was sit half naked on a table for 30 minutes time. Back to this.
Next point - how is table service supposed to be provided in a no contact way? I just don’t see a way of doing it, without a high risk of infection spread to my team and other patrons.
Next point - how is table service supposed to be provided in a no contact way? I just don’t see a way of doing it, without a high risk of infection spread to my team and other patrons.
Disposable plates and service ware all help, but how do you physically deliver the plate to the patron? And don’t send that silly shit where servers put plates on a six foot board and use that to pass it to guests.
Eh I’m back. Vasectomy was a fail. Bummer city. Ok back to this bullshit.
The ONLY way do any kind of seated dining is outdoor, distanced dining combined with a no contact counter service model. Preferably with a private outdoor space.
The ONLY way do any kind of seated dining is outdoor, distanced dining combined with a no contact counter service model. Preferably with a private outdoor space.
Which means something like what’s happening on Atwells right now, without a road closure, doesn’t make sense.
The name of the game here is controlling variables.
Controlling staff is easy. Controlling guests is harder. Controlling the general public at large is impossible.
Controlling staff is easy. Controlling guests is harder. Controlling the general public at large is impossible.
The only real way to protect staff and guests is no contact. Scheduled pickups. No big lines. It sucks financially but it’s the only way to keep people safe.
And then we can look at the financial end of this.
I don’t know any restaurant that can operate at 50% capacity and be viable. And I can’t think of a restaurant in providence that can even hit 50% capacity with 6-8ft of distance between tables.
I don’t know any restaurant that can operate at 50% capacity and be viable. And I can’t think of a restaurant in providence that can even hit 50% capacity with 6-8ft of distance between tables.
Yea, we need to diversify our income streams in order to survive. But we also need to continue to normalize takeaway as the only safe way of cooking for people, at least until there is a vaccine, effective therapeutic, or major test/trace/government assisted isolation program
By putting the onus on operators to open or not, it puts the ones that value safety of their staff and guests at a financial disadvantage.
It’s important that the group of people that we are serving is fundamentally different than it was in February 2020.
It’s important that the group of people that we are serving is fundamentally different than it was in February 2020.
In February 2020 I was a big believer in the “rising tide” theorem. That every restaurant opening drove more people to the city and state as a whole, and thus brought more money in.
Now there is no tourism. And there shouldn’t be. So the client base shifts.
Now there is no tourism. And there shouldn’t be. So the client base shifts.
We are a small city that relies on student populations and tourism to drive large sections of hospitality economy. I’ve prided myself on trying to build spaces that locals can afford to eat at on a semi regular basis, but also want to show off to their out of town friends.
So now, in a non tourism/no student world, restaurants are all fighting over the same population - this isn’t the end of the world though, it just requires some mental juggling to make the math work with labor costs, menu development, and marketing.
It doesn’t *make* profit, but it pays bills, and stems losses with the idea that with patience and holding fast systems will be developed that allow for actual safe opening of dining rooms.
But again, it works because there is a level paying field. Takeaway is the only option, and so it’s normalized.
There is a majority of the population that is uncomfortable with sitting in dining rooms, and they will continue to support us.
There is a majority of the population that is uncomfortable with sitting in dining rooms, and they will continue to support us.
But what about the section that does believe it’s safe to eat in restaurants? Under normal circumstance, that’d be ok - there are certain populations that don’t want to eat at my restaurants for all sort of reasons. But when the customer pool is orders of magnitude smaller...
I’m afraid it’ll take us from treading water to underwater real quick. And all because we want to prioritize peoples safety over profit.
There’s more to this conversation with myself, but I just got my ball cut open for no reason and I’m pretty bummed out about it, so I’m going to go back to actual work now.
Did you get to the end of this? Bored because your are being a good citizen? Want some more context? Here’s a couple articles you should definitely read:
This @NewYorker interview by @hels
I’m a shitty incrementalist because I gave up on revolutions, except for the tiny one we can create in our own spaces. But I found the points surrounding money especially poignant https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-case-for-letting-the-restaurant-industry-die
I’m a shitty incrementalist because I gave up on revolutions, except for the tiny one we can create in our own spaces. But I found the points surrounding money especially poignant https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-case-for-letting-the-restaurant-industry-die
This one by @jayasax is really key. What’s the point of restaurants? Who are we cooking for? What kinda of demands should be made on the people that make restaurants function? https://www.eater.com/2020/5/26/21270472/restaurants-reopening-food-service-workers-dont-feel-safe-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic
This one by @marianbull is also a killer. https://newrepublic.com/article/157761/blow-restaurant-industry-start
The general gist of it all is that the thing that makes restaurants special is the people that make them run. Those are who we should focus on saving. Learn to let go of the spaces, but keeps the people in your hearts.
