7 Questions to Ask When Reopening Your Restaurant
As in-person dining begins to open back up across the country, restaurant owners have a lot to consider. From creating an open-air dining space and re-configuring indoor space for social distancing, to implementing new standards of sanitization and health measures, the reopening of restaurants will be anything but simple.
LoopNet spoke with some experts about key concerns regarding reopening your restaurants safely and cost-effectively.
What Modifications Do I Need to Make?
Following CDC recommendations to keep restaurant patrons at least six feet apart or reduce occupancy to 50% or even just 25% requires some maneuvering, says Joel Weinstein, chair of the Restaurant Group at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP, a California law firm.
“Tables and booths may need to be removed or marked for non-use to satisfy occupancy limits," he says. “Floor decals are frequently used to maintain social distance, and some restaurants are removing self-order kiosks to reduce the spread of the virus." In addition, modifications to cashier stations or putting in a walk-up window for take-out may make sense depending on the business.
This can be done easily enough if you already have a flexible floor plan. Otherwise, you may have to consider installing partitions between booths.
“The challenge is how to ensure safety and yet maintain the sense of energy and community that people desire and especially crave right now," says Nancy J. Ruddy, co-founding principal and executive director of New York-based interior design firm CetraRuddy. There are a few possibilities for creative solutions, she shares, including adding plants or art between tables to create visual excitement while separating guests safely.
In certain locations, depending on climate, expansion to outdoor dining might involve setting up patio tables around the perimeter of the restaurant, on sidewalks, or in parking areas. Keep in mind this set-up might be temporary or seasonal, so you have to decide how much is worth investing.
Other additions worth considering include improvements to your ventilation systems, sanitizer stations, and social distance signage, such as floor markers.
How Much Will These Modifications Cost?
In addition to worrying about the cost of changes, restaurants are also trying to survive despite only serving a fraction of the capacity for which their spaces were designed.
That said, modifications can range widely. For flexible seating, like loose tables and chairs, it's just a matter of rearranging the seats and putting the rest in storage, says David Rader, AIA, senior project manager at Dyer Brown, a Boston-based architectural firm.
“For booth seating I have worked with clients to provide plexiglass screens on top of the back of the booth to separate guests from each other," Radar explains. "Pricing of these can vary widely based on size and complexity of the booth it is attaching to."
Some lower cost physical changes that restaurants with smaller budgets can implement include automated hand sanitizer dispensers, which can be purchased for under $60, says Nick Perrotta, owner of Perrotta Consulting LLC, which develops threat mitigation plans for bars, restaurants and other establishments.
Even small investments can provide customers with a sense the business is taking meaningful steps to protect their health and safety, he adds.
“Placing tables farther apart from one another, posting a cleaning log in your bathroom, implementing a QR code menu rather than a physical menu, posting signage indicating procedural changes, and regulating traffic patterns all are very low-cost physical changes that provide customers with increased levels of safety and reassurance," says Perrotta.
Are There Examples From Other Restaurant Operators to Learn From?
One of Perrotta's clients is The Sands Atlantic in Long Island, New York, a beach club and catering hall venue. Before reopening, they put together a "COVID Advisement Team" to ensure compliance and create a COVID-19 Operations Plan, says Perrotta.
Some measures they have taken include installing a fever detection thermal imaging camera that scans the surface temperature of all staff and members prior to entering the facility, and placing hand sanitizing stations every 50 feet outside the facility.
The staff has also been trained in COVID-19-related operating procedures, and every bathroom has an attendant to monitor traffic and conduct regular decontamination. There is also only one entry point and exit point to the facility to ensure everyone inside has been screened, and COVID-19 advisors walk around providing masks to anyone who needs one.
Smaller restaurants may be able to scale down some of these precautions, but the general idea is to be proactive, have a plan, and make sure your staff is ready.
What Are Some Resources That Provide Guidelines for Restaurant Reopening and Operation?
Start with the national guidance:
- The National Restaurant Association's COVID-19 Reopening Guidance report
- The Center for Disease Control's Considerations for Restaurants and Bars report
Then, look for local guidance. For example, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) has sent out guidelines to its members and provides daily email updates on the status of the next phase and what to expect, says Rader.
“The MRA has been communicating directly with the governor and their team to help open restaurants and establish guidelines for indoor and outdoor seating arrangements, cleaning protocols and much more," he says.
New York restaurant owners can look to the NYC Restaurant Reopening Guide.
What Long-term Impacts or Changes Should I Be Considering?
For those considering alterations to interior spaces, it's important to remember that the plastic partitions that are becoming ubiquitous are not always easy to keep clean, says Joshua Zinder, AIA, managing partner, JZA+D, a design firm in Princeton, N.J. “High-back booths separating tables may be a lower-maintenance alternative."
Still, partitions between tables and high-back booth seating still make sense as a long-term strategy since they are operable in a post-vaccine scenario.
Likewise, automation that reduces contact by staff with customer orders or increases distancing between staff and customers is likely to become part of the restaurant business for the long haul, says Weinstein.
What Are My Rights as a Tenant?
The starting point for determining your rights as a tenant is your lease. “Strategies for tenants depend on many factors including the type of landlord, and will vary upon the site location," says Weinstein.
The laws controlling evictions of commercial tenants during COVID-19 depend upon location. For example, in California, the landlord may not evict a commercial tenant because courts are not processing summons to evict tenants.
Therefore, tenants are in a position to discuss a variety of alternatives, says Weinstein. Those include “a full or partial rent abatement, deferral of rent, or an 'accommodate and extend scenario,' where the tenant extends the lease in exchange for current accommodations, credit enhancements such as a personal guarantee or additional deposit, or percentage rent that landlords often initially resist."
Beyond rent obligations, tenants should also discuss any modifications with their landlords, says Rader. He notes that many landlords have been generous with expanding outdoor seating capacities, allowing restaurants to extend onto more sidewalk space or more patio space and even to adjacent lawns and parks.
What's the Ultimate Factor in Reopening?
Ultimately, the goal of all restaurateurs right now should be to rebrand as the safest business in the sector, says Perrotta. “Publish steps you are taking to protect customers and staff on websites or social media and allow people to see the steps you have taken to ensure their safety," he says.
Ruddy agrees. “Restaurant owners and operators should be thinking about adaptable environments that feel safe and welcoming," she says. Once your customers feel comfortable returning to your establishment, your business will start to pick up and thrive again.
