Though we can now happily dine out without worrying about social distancing or masks, pandemic impacts still linger for many locally owned restaurants and bars. From closures and staff shortages to increased expenses and forced adaptability, it's likely going to take far more than five years for the restaurant industry to recover from the fallout.
TAKEOUT TAKEOVER
When then-Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation on March 15, 2020, shutting down dine-in services and bars statewide, businesses had to pivot to takeout or temporarily close. A week later, the stay-at-home order for virtually everyone was issued, and only food was initially allowed to be sold to-go.
Delivery platforms like DoorDash and GrubHub, as well as local meal delivery services, boomed and are still commonly used today.
Washington's initial stay-home order was extended, and a four-phase reopening plan for public spaces, including restaurants, was announced in May 2020, with each phase to be determined by current infection levels.
Over time, as cases improved, restaurants were able to open at 25% or 50% capacity with social distancing between parties.
"[Statewide] we saw roughly 3,400 closures [of restaurants and bars] in that first round of the pandemic and people losing everything," says Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association.
Smaller restaurants that didn't have space to uphold the social distancing requirements were particularly affected, he notes.
"Most of those are probably the ones that got wiped out because they just didn't own a business where 6 feet between tables was a viable option," Anton says.
To support struggling businesses, the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board temporarily allowed restaurants with a spirits, beer and wine license to sell to-go cocktails starting in April 2020, provided they were sealed in approved containers and purchased with a full meal. Some to-go alcohol options became a permanent fixture after the July 2023 passage of state Senate Bill 5448.
Local chef and restaurateur Adam Hegsted, owner of Eat Good Group, permanently closed his flagship eatery, the Wandering Table in Kendall Yards, and replaced it with Baba in 2021. He also closed Incrediburger in downtown Spokane, citing the downturn of foot traffic during the pandemic. However, his Idaho-based restaurants like Honey Eatery and Republic Kitchen + Taphouse, fared better due to fewer restrictions.
"We were doing really well in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene. Like it was twice as busy. So that really did save us," Hegsted says.
Amid these challenges, the community rallied to support local restaurants and hospitality workers. Rick Clark, the founder of Giving Back Spokane, launched a fundraising campaign that raised $250,000 during 112 nights of nearly consecutive Facebook livestreams. Those funds were used to buy food at full price from struggling restaurants, which was then donated to homeless shelters and others in need.
"When people were giving that much money to help those restaurants during that scary time, I realized that this world is a beautiful place, and it really has shifted our mission," Clark says. "It's literally changed the way our nonprofit is because we got to see the best during the worst times."
Big Table, a local nonprofit that supports restaurant and hospitality workers, saw an exponential increase in referrals during the pandemic. Suddenly unemployed restaurant workers turned to Big Table for help paying rent, buying food and other expenses.
"Right before COVID, we were looking at 10 to 15 new referrals a month on top of all the ongoing other support we were doing," says Chris Deitz, Big Table's city director. "The minute COVID hit, we were looking at 15 new referrals a day."
MASKED BEFORE MEALS
Starting May 22, 2020, Spokane restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen at 50% capacity with limited table seating (no more than five people), no bar seating and single-use menus. QR codes quickly replaced paper menus and are still common today.
Over the next several months, restrictions fluctuated as COVID-19 infections surged and declined. Inslee implemented a statewide mask mandate on June 26, 2020, requiring diners to wear a mask indoors except when eating or drinking. Soon after, restaurants and bars were required to refuse service to noncompliant customers or risk fines and business license revocation.
In July 2020, Washington closed bars, breweries, taverns and wineries for indoor services, even if they had a full food menu, with Inslee citing the different "social behaviours" at these establishments for the stricter regulations. Restaurants' dine-in services were limited to tables with only members of the same household. Restaurants and bars could continue outdoor dining at 50% capacity, but alcohol service had to stop at 10 pm.
By fall 2020, after some loosening of regulations, COVID-19 cases surged again, leading Inslee to reinstate tighter restrictions on Nov. 15. Restaurants and bars were closed again for indoor dining, but could seat customers outdoors (limited to five people per table) and offer takeout services.
Some places like the Davenport Grand, Luna and the Coeur d'Alene Resort, got creative with outdoor seating and introduced transparent "igloos" for terrace dining, which were a game changer for the winter season and are still being used, especially during the holidays.
Spokane reentered Phase 2 of Washington's reopening plan on Feb. 14, 2021, permitting indoor dining at 25% capacity and extending the sale of alcohol to 11 pm.
The state progressed to Phase 3 in March of that year, increasing indoor dining capacity to 50%. Tables could seat up to 10 people, and alcohol could be sold until midnight. However, bars with nightclub liquor licenses, like Berserk in downtown Spokane, weren't allowed to reopen until Phase 4. Regulations were eventually revised so such venues could open by adding food service and banning dancing.
In lieu of Inlander Restaurant Week 2021, the Inlander coordinated The Great Dine Out with community partners. From March 11-17, 120 participating restaurants highlighted three signature dishes for takeout.
In May 2021, federal aid from the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund became available. However, the pool of money was quickly exhausted and awarded to roughly only 105,000 applicants nationwide, as demand surpassed $75 billion. Grant awards were determined by calculating a business's gross revenue losses in 2020, excluding funding received from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
The summer of 2021 took a brighter turn when restrictions were finally fully lifted on June 30, after the first round of COVID vaccines became available. Restaurants and bars could operate at full capacity without social distancing requirements or party size caps. Bar seating was also permitted, and alcohol could again be served until 2 am.
Even so, Spokane's end-of-summer food festival Pig Out in the Park was canceled again that year due to a spike in the delta variant of the virus.
In light of the delta variant's surge, Inslee reinstated the mask mandate on Aug. 23 for most indoor public spaces, including in restaurants and bars when not actively eating or drinking. The statewide mandate was not lifted until March 2022.
ENDURING IMPACTS
Food businesses that survived the pandemic are still grappling with long-lasting financial impacts. Many restaurants accumulated debt and are now operating with even thinner margins, averaging 1.5% profit (compared with a 3% average pre-pandemic) in Washington, according to the Washington Hospitality Association.
"The average restaurant left the COVID period with about $160,000 in debt," Anton says. "In 2023, the average restaurant did $1.1 million in sales. That 1.5% on $1.1 million means they took home roughly $16,000 in income. That's not sustainable."
Even though many restaurants received federal relief grants, others also had to take out loans, which they are now paying back.
"The amount [of debt] that I took during COVID years is going to take me like 10 years to pay off," restaurateur Hegsted says. "So like all of that profit that I'm getting right now is literally going to the debts I got during COVID to keep the business operational."
As the restaurant and bar industry continues to rebuild, not just locally but across the U.S., many establishments are reevaluating their business models, whether that be adjusting operating hours and menus or implementing new technology.
Anton, speaking on behalf of the restaurant industry, asks for patience and grace from customers as businesses experiment while facing rising costs for labor and supplies.
"The industry is really, really hurting. And we're probably at a point where we've got a short amount of time to figure out how we can change to be profitable and then I think the clock is just going to run out," Anton says. ♦
