Restaurant owners say they’ll reopen Jan. 4 if shutdown is extended
Observer-Reporter
Mike and Lori Coury, owners of River House Cafe in Charleroi, are shown in this 2018 photo.
Holly Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
Al Collins is shown in his newly renovated kitchen at Al ‘an Ruben’s restaurant in this 2018 photo.
Courtesy of Solomon’s Seafood
Michael Williamson of Solomon’s Seafood said business is slowly improving at his Washington restaurant despite the pandemic continuing.
Restaurants that are complying with a statewide ban on indoor dining are drawing a line in the sand on Jan. 4. That’s when the state’s restaurant shutdown is scheduled to be lifted, and many business owners say they’ll reopen their dining rooms that day even if Gov. Tom Wolf extends the restrictions as some fear.
The three-week shutdown since Dec. 12 has been a devastating blow for restaurants and bars already struggling through sluggish sales due to the coronavirus pandemic. But many owners who are following the rules by only offering takeout right now are watching as their scofflaw counterparts that have fully reopened are doing booming business.
Mike Coury, owner of the River House Café in Charleroi, has complied with the order since it began, but said he’s lost more than half of his business during what is usually a busy holiday season. He said he’s dipped into most of the savings he’s accrued while running the restaurant for the past 13 years, although he’s most disturbed by the 25 loyal employees he’s had to furlough right before Christmas.
“It was a decision made without heart,” Coury said of Wolf’s order. “As far as business, this whole year has destroyed our industry.”
While Coury continues to offer takeout through the shutdown, he said the restaurant will be open next Monday with or without the governor’s blessing.
“That’s our line in the sand, right there. I just don’t have faith in the integrity in the state anymore,” Coury said, adding that he understands Wolf is in a difficult position balancing public safety and the needs of local businesses. “I got to get workers back.”
Wolf indicated last week he was not considering extending the ban past Jan. 4 when he announced a plan to distribute $145 million to local businesses – mostly restaurants and bars – that have been severely impacted by the pandemic.
“I haven’t been thinking about making any changes,” he said during a press conference Wednesday.
But if he does, most restaurant owners in the region said they’re willing to take their chances.
The state Department of Agriculture ordered Angelo’s near Washington to close on Dec. 18 – one of 40 restaurants in the state – but that didn’t stop owner Michael Passalacqua from defying that mandate. Last Wednesday, the restaurant was packed with people, including several customers sitting at the bar enjoying drinks and their meal.
The amount of money made by restaurants remaining open appears to greatly outweigh the punishment of initial warnings and fines. Even those that are ordered to be closed have made a calculated gamble that they can fight the closure in court, meaning the pandemic could be over before the state has the power to legally shut them down.
That has drawn the attention of Al Collins, who owns Al ‘an Rubens near Washington.
“I ain’t got no resentment. You got to do what you go to do,” Collins said of other businesses that are open. “If they don’t do anything to the people (staying open) out there, they won’t do anything at all. If they haven’t done anything to the people defying the orders, sooner or later you have to say enough is enough.”
Collins said he expects to speak to his lawyer about his options because takeout sales have been sluggish compared to dining. The restaurant runs four or five specials a day and will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, before closing Thursday and Friday for the New Year’s holiday. He added that the community has stepped up to buy gift cards to help them get through the shutdown.
“They’re supporting us,” Collins said. “We’re not doing what we should be doing like all the other restaurants that are open are doing.”
Like many of the restaurant owners, Collins is most concerned about the well-being of his employees, who are bearing the brunt of the shutdown.
“My employees are suffering. I can’t pay my bills, and we’re not making a profit,” he said. “We’re barely hanging in there.”
Benjamin Venick, owner of Rizz’s in Uniontown, decided to open his restaurant the week of Dec. 14 and reaped the benefits with huge profits. But he received a warning from agents with the state police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement a few days later and he voluntarily closed indoor dining.
“Everyone was rebelling against it. The places that are staying open … are busy as hell,” Venick said. “I congratulate them for it. I really do. Keep going until you get caught. It’s amazing that I was the only one that got hit and shut down.”
He’s since gone back to takeout and scaled down his hours and the number of employees, but pledged to reopen Jan. 4 no matter what.
“Give us 25%,” Venick said of a diminished capacity for indoor seating. “That would’ve been so much better than shutting down.”
Eric Hall, owner of Beez Bistro, used the initial three-month shut down in the spring to renovate his restaurant in South Fayette. But the whole year has been devastating for his catering business in addition to the restaurant – especially the past couple of weeks – so he plans to open Jan. 11.
“I’ve been on the fence because of the backlash. I’m willing to give (Wolf) the three weeks. But we will try to open up in January because we won’t have a choice,” Hall said. “I think the restaurants are going to do that stuff. I don’t know if they’re not going to be able to.”
He feels Wolf is unfairly targeting his industry for the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state over the past two months. Wolf said Wednesday he did not blame the industry, but that the act of people gathering indoors without wearing masks helps to spread the virus.
“This pandemic has imposed horrible choices on all of us,” Wolf said.
But Hall noted that many of his fellow restaurateurs have taken steps to protect the public by enforcing the masking of customers while not seated, along with extraordinary cleaning efforts. He said contact tracers have never called his business, indicating no one at his restaurant has become infected while dining there.
They’re currently offering takeout, which has been helpful, but will be closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday. He said they’ll reevaluate their situation next weekend before deciding whether to reopen.
“They’re kind of forcing us to make a decision. They keep on playing the game. They take your business away and then they give it back to you in pieces,” he said of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. “They’re collecting all their (taxes) but we’re getting hammered.”
Some restaurants are offering new specials to entice takeout, including The Union Grill in Washington, which is selling a two-piece chicken dinner with pasta, side salad, zucchini appetizer, bread and dessert for $30. Many people are also buying gift cards for the holidays, according to manager Rodney Dulaney.
“It’s rough, but it’s something we’ll get through,” Dulaney said.
Dulaney is looking forward to a prosperous 2021, although he did not know if The Union Grill would reopen on Jan. 4 if the governor extends the order past that date.
“We’re going to have to rethink that whenever the time comes,” he said.
While the shutdown has also been difficult at Solomon’s Seafood in Washington, co-owner Michael Williamson said the response from the community has filled him with holiday cheer. He said 50 to 60 regular customers have mentioned to him that they’ve ordered takeout from different places to support their favorite restaurants.
“When I say the support is really good, obviously it’s not as good as if we would be open, but definitely people are understanding,” Williamson said. “They’ve been good to us.”
In response to that generosity, Williamson said they are going to pick various local charities to make donations as a way of giving back to the community.
“People have been good to us through this,” he said. “We’re going to be good to someone.”
They plan to offer various takeout specials this week, including on Thursday and Friday for New Year’s. But he added that the situation could change next week for him and many others who played by the state’s rules if the shutdown is not lifted soon.
“Everyone has to make their own decisions for themselves. I don’t know what their other finances or culture is. We don’t begrudge them,” Williamson said. “As long as we’re OK, we’re still making that decision. Next week is going to be tough not open for the new year.”