Local restaurants ‘bouncing back’ as pandemic continues
Courtesy of Michael Ozohonish
Kristen Ozohonish, co-owner of Ozy’s Bar & Grill near Clarksville, prepares cabbage rolls for delivery in April 2020 during the shutdown.
Observer-Reporter
Michael and Lori Coury, pictured in June with state secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development Dennis Davin, center, discuss how their Charleroi restaurant weathered the pandemic.
Courtesy of Solomon’s Seafood
Michael Williamson of Solomon’s Seafood said business is slowly improving at his Washington restaurant despite the pandemic continuing.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Al’s Cafe owner Rod Ambrogi speaks during a December 2020 rally outside his restaurant protesting Gov. Tom Wolf’s order restricting indoor dining in Pennsylvania.
Observer-Reporter
Ben Venick, owner of Rizz’s, poses in his Uniontown restaurant.
A year ago, restaurants and bars across Pennsylvania were closed under Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders in an attempt slow the surge in COVID-19 cases across the state during the winter months. Or at least they were supposed to be.
While many establishments complied with the governor’s nearly four-week shutdown order, some refused to close as frustration from restaurateurs boiled over while the pandemic and restrictions stifled business. Despite some hope the pandemic was easing this summer and a return to normalcy was imminent, restaurants were met with staffing issues, supply-chain delays and now record-breaking case numbers of COVID-19 thanks to the highly-contagious Omicron variant.
But with all of that happening, restaurants are slowly bouncing back after a difficult two years, while also focusing on keeping their workers and customers safe as they try to keep their doors open.
“Business has been improving,” said Michael Williamson, co-owner of Solomon’s Seafood in Washington. “I won’t say it’s pre-pandemic (levels) just because it’s different. … It’s been a little more inconsistent. It’s been challenging, but it’s been improving.”
Unlike last year when Solomon’s was closed through most of December per the shutdown mandate, Williamson said he has has seen a “great holiday season” this year, especially with dinning reservations and takeout orders for New Year’s Eve gatherings. There are no longer government requirements for customers or staff members to wear facemasks indoors, and many restaurants like Solomon’s are leaving those decisions up to the individual.
“The people who are comfortable coming out are comfortable (with the situation). ‘We’re vaccinated and we’re going to move on with our lives.’ And there are others who are hesitant,” Williamson said.
But they’re continuing their strict cleaning regiment per Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, while Williamson said they do not permit workers who are sick to come into the restaurant under any circumstances.
“You’re not going to muscle through it. If you don’t feel well, stay home,” Williamson said. “You don’t want to get sick and you don’t want your staff to get sick and then close down with those issues. I’m fatigued with concern at this time. If something like that were to happen, we would handle it.”
Kristen Ozohonish, the co-owner of Ozy’s Bar & Grill near Clarksville, said their business model changed somewhat last year as they’ve transitioned into more of a restaurant rather than a bar after remodeling during the spring-time shutdown in 2020.
“We’re still doing pretty good. We’ve still been pretty lucky,” she said. “It’s different anyway, we sell a lot more food and not as much bar business. We kind of transitioned into more of a restaurant than a bar, but we’re doing good.”
With all of the recalibrating of life through the pandemic, business has also been different for Ben Venick, who owns Rizz’s in Uniontown. After offering take-out during the shutdowns last year, he found some customers became accustomed to that option and continued to order out despite his restaurant being open for indoor dining.
“Take out is still doing well. It’s the new normal,” Venick said. “My business of to-go went up tremendously, along with people still coming out to support us. It’s a win-win for me, I think.”
But a different problem that has arisen this year is product delays for anything from takeout containers to imported tuna, which is one of his biggest sellers on the menu. The uncertainty of when delivery orders may arrive is causing uncertainty for Venick and others.
“Now, it’s not so much hoping people come through the door, it’s hoping we get the product through the door,” Venick said.
Staffing, however, has not been an issue at Rizz’s, Venick said, because he kept all of his employees on even through last year’s shutdowns. That allowed him to recalibrate once they were fully open again in 2021.
“Knock on wood, we never ever lost a beat with my staff. I kept everybody on,” Venick said. “At times (we) were overstaffed. Right now, we’re perfect, which is a rare thing to hear.”
Other local restaurants can’t say the same about their staffing.
Michael Coury, owner of RiverHouse Café in Charleroi, said they were troubled by “labor issues” after closing during the winter shutdown last year, but have slowly been getting positions filled. Unfortunately, the restaurant still has not been able open to its full pre-pandemic hours due to the labor shortage.
“You see that everywhere,” Coury said. “But it’s bouncing back.”
Coury is monitoring the current surge in COVID-19 cases from Omicron and wonders if it will impact his business, either through more staffing shortages or customers staying home.
“We’re always hopeful, but we’re going to have to wait to see what problems present themselves and how to react to them,” Coury said. “You can’t predict the future, you just hope that it is good.”
That uncertainty is being felt by Rod Ambrogi, the owner of Al’s Café in Bethel Park who publicly flaunted the shutdown orders and stayed open while encouraging other restaurateurs to do the same. This year, he’s more concerned about price increases, potential staffing problems and whether the ongoing pandemic will stifle business in 2022.
“It’s been decent. It scares me what may happen in the next few months, but so far things have been OK,” Ambrogi said.
One thing most restaurant owners don’t have to worry about this year is another state-mandated shutdown after the governor’s emergency declaration powers were curtailed by the Republican-controlled legislature, which placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot that was approved by voters in May. While Wolf no longer has that power to institute a prolonged closure, the coronavirus is forcing it to happen for some establishments after a slew of restaurants in Allegheny County announced last week they were temporarily closing because of staff shortages after some workers contracted COVID-19.
That issue hasn’t been widespread in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.
“So far, everyone’s been healthy, everyone is vaccinated,” Ambrogi said of his staff. “If they want to wear a mask, wear a mask.”
At RiverHouse in Charleroi, Coury said one staff member who went on vacation contracted COVID-19, but that worker never came into the restaurant until after testing negative. He said they’ll monitor any issues and react accordingly on a case-by-case basis, but so far they’ve been fortunate.
“Every situation is going to dictate a different reaction,” Coury said. “We have our workers do what’s comfortable to them.”
Venick said he expects a similar response for his Uniontown restaurant. But he added they’ll continue to find ways to serve their customers as the pandemic enters its third year.
“I cannot afford to close. I will not close,” Venick said.
What 2022 will bring is a mystery for everyone, but Ozohonish is hopeful her eatery in Clarksville can emerge stronger after two turbulent years.
“I guess it can’t really get any worse, or at least I hope,” Ozohonish said. “I just think everyone wants everything to get back to normal, but it’s hard to see that happening.”