By Mary O’KEEFE

As the pandemic continues to eat away at personal finances and businesses, especially hard-hit small business finances, another set of Safer-at-Home restrictions have been put into place that will have extreme effects on restaurant owners, their staffs and all they support.

Restaurants appeared to be adjusting to outdoor seating requirements, working with the Dept. of Public Works, Los Angeles County. Under the first set of Safer-at-Home restrictions, county restaurants were allowed to only serve patrons via delivery or pick-up. There was no indoor or outdoor in-person dining permitted. Then, as the number of COVID-19 cases decreased, restaurants were allowed to offer outdoor only in-person dining. Cities, including Glendale, worked with businesses to create outdoor seating, including installing K-rails to expand outdoor seating. Tables had to be at least six-feet apart and patrons were still required to wear face coverings, lowering them while eating. The wait staff continued to wear face coverings, including face shields. This seemed to work and in Montrose worked well as patrons began returning to support the local restaurants. Some owners bought extra tables and chairs to accommodate more outdoor diners as well as purchasing tent coverings and, recently, outdoor heaters. Then the number of positive COVID-19 cases greatly increased, resulting in new restrictions put in place that required restaurants to ban outdoor dining and return to delivery or pick-up.

On Nov. 24 the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to move forward with the ban on outdoor dining at restaurants, breweries and wineries, even after receiving more than 3,700 comments from members of the public concerned with these restrictions that appear to be baseless. Supervisor Kathryn Barger introduced a motion, co-authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, that would have rescinded these closures and enabled outdoor dining to continue, citing the lack of any data to support that dining is a means for significant community transmission of the virus. The motion was denied on a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Hilda Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl voting for the ban, according to a statement by Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

“The current Health Orders seem to take the approach that sectors should remain closed throughout the entire County, instead of focusing only on necessary closures in sectors that carry an inordinate and proven risk,” Barger said. “There is no data to support closing dining establishments which makes this an arbitrary and capricious restriction – especially the day before Thanksgiving. Furthermore, this action will only further encourage individuals to participate in private gatherings, without any of the necessary public health safety measures, which is where the virus is more likely to spread.”
This is something Art Miner, owner of The Crow’s Nest Sports Grille in Tujunga, agrees with.

Miner said he knows people who gathered with 10 to 12 people at someone’s home when the first round of closures happened.

“It is so much safer [at restaurants],” he said.

Restaurants have always been aware of the spread of virus. The restaurant industry is inspected by the County on a regular basis and Miner said that, due to COVID-19, restaurant owners have done even more to keep their staff and their customers safe.

Miner followed all the restrictions and rules set forth by LA County Public Health and recently spent $10,000 to add additional furniture and equipment that is compliant with COVID-19 outdoor dining guidelines.

“Businesses have made incredible sacrifices to align with safety protocols to remain open in order to pay their bills and feed their families,” Supervisor Barger said. “Our hospitalization rates are among the lowest we’ve seen. Yet the rationale for further closures is tied to the number of patients in the hospital. We’ve come a long way to support workers and residents who are struggling to stay afloat and should not regress on the progress we’ve made.”
“It has taken me a couple of days to get over it and get back into the fight,” Miner said of learning of the new restrictions. “It’s devastating.”

He added that this time is different from last time there were Safer-at-Home restrictions when restaurants were only allowed to offer take-out and pick-up service. The public has learned more what “safer” meant, including social distancing and wearing face coverings; however, last time there was stimulus funding provided through the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security] Act giving people money to spend. There was also financial help for businesses, like the Paycheck Protection Program, but for many those funds were used up weeks ago.

But restaurants, and especially hard-hit small businesses, do not do business in a bubble.

“The ripple effect is phenomenal,” Miner said.

Local restaurants donate to many local non-profits; they sponsor sport teams, donate food to food banks, and raise funds for customers who have hit hard times. These businesses are like family members to the larger community.

He is a local – his childhood home was “taken” by the construction of the 210 Freeway – and knows his customers and his neighbors. The new restrictions are taking a personal toll as he feels responsible not only to his customers but also to his employees.

“I have 17 employees and they all have families,” he said.

Barger asked the County to immediately repurpose $10 million in CARES Act funding to grants allocated to restaurants, breweries and wineries that will be devastated by the new County Health Officer Orders, which are significantly more restrictive than the state’s.

“We asked businesses to invest substantial resources to ensure safety, only to force them to close,” said Barger. “Small businesses cannot withstand these constant changes and deserve better.”

CVW encourages all who can to continue to support local businesses including restaurants.

The Crow’s Nest Sports Grille is offering lunch and dinner Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and breakfast, lunch and dinner on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For information, visit thecrowsnestsg.com or call (818) 353-0852.

Casa Córdoba is available for pick-up. Take-out and delivery is Tuesdays to Fridays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m. An order form for meals can be found at casacordoba.com or call (818) 937-4445.