By Matt Ingersoll
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On May 18, New Hampshire eateries were permitted to reopen for limited outdoor dining only, as part of Phase 4 of Gov. Chris Sununu’s modified “Stay at Home 2.0” order.
It could be a much needed boost for many business owners, as the coronavirus continues to cripple the restaurant industry in the Granite State. Just last week, the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association reported that around 39,000 restaurant employees statewide were unemployed due to the virus-related shutdown — that’s more than half (roughly 56 percent) of all the food service jobs in New Hampshire that there were in the year 2019. Association president Mike Somers said it’s “easily north of 40,000” if you count seasonal jobs.
The number of restaurants operating in the Granite State fluctuates with the time of year, but according to Somers it’s roughly between 2,200 and 2,600.
“Every day that goes by, there are restaurants that are one step closer to a full closure,” he said. “Many of them are having to totally reinvent themselves.”
Under Sununu’s order, which was issued on May 1, all restaurants are allowed to open for dining “wherever an outdoor area can be set up safely,” including in parking lots, on sidewalks, patios and lawn areas. A number of guidelines and requirements were also released through his Economic Reopening Taskforce. To promote social distancing, tables must be spaced at least six feet apart from one another, with no table seating more than six people at a time. No self-serve buffets or condiments for use by multiple tables are allowed.
But is this going to be enough to help some businesses bounce back? Local restaurateurs talk about their decisions to either reopen or stay closed, the logistical challenges of moving their operations outdoors, and collaboration with other agencies to help jumpstart the industry.
From patios to picnic tables
Tom Boucher, CEO of the Bedford-based Great New Hampshire Restaurants, said outdoor dining has been implemented across all nine of the company’s locations — the two Copper Door restaurants in Bedford and Salem, the five T-Bones Great American Eatery restaurants in Bedford, Derry, Hudson, Laconia and Salem, Cactus Jack’s in Laconia and CJ’s Great West Grill in Manchester. All but one restaurant — the Salem T-Bones — already has an outdoor patio, but Boucher said tents have been rented and set up in each parking lot, with between 42 and 48 additional seats under each tent, depending on the location.
At each table, customers are given disposable paper menus, disposable salt and pepper packets and pre-portioned condiments inside plastic souffle cups, all in an effort to limit surface contact. The menus themselves are still limited, similar to the takeout menus each eatery has been offering since mid-March.
“We’re doing the best that we can [to] deliver what our customers expect from us, while still adhering to the state guidelines,” Boucher said.
Since Sununu’s March 16 order limiting restaurants to takeout, delivery and drive-thru only, Boucher said thousands of dollars in revenue have been lost. While not a long-term solution, Monday’s transition back to outdoor dining proved to be a step in the right direction.
“Being the first day and a Monday, we were very pleased across the board,” he said.
On April 3, Boucher applied for eight weeks of Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] loans through the federal CARES act and received the funds 10 days later. Business owners are required to use at least 75 percent of the funds for payroll and up to 25 percent for utilities in order for the loans to be forgiven.
“We … were able to bring back close to 200 full-time employees,” he said, “but those loans will be exhausted the week of June 7, unless we get more help from the federal government.”
When it comes to outdoor dining, Boucher pointed out that weather conditions can present potential challenges.
“We can’t just call our employees and say, ‘Hey, it’s nice out, come on in.’ It’s difficult to predict the weather when we have to schedule hours for our staff a week out,” he said. “Even if it’s raining just a little bit, we won’t be open, because it just isn’t fair to our staff.”
A sixth T-Bones restaurant in Concord that’s been under construction for the past year would have been ready to open in June, but Boucher said its opening will be delayed indefinitely.
Three of the Magic Foods Restaurant Group locations have also reopened for outdoor dining. Depending on the location, between 30 and 70 seats have been added at both O Steaks & Seafood restaurants in Concord and Laconia, as well as the Canoe Restaurant & Tavern in Center Harbor, according to Magic Foods owner Scott Ouellette.
“It’s been like opening up a brand new restaurant all over again,” Ouellette said of the logistics involved in preparing each eatery for outdoor dining. “I think it’s a great start, but nothing that’s going to be sustainable long-term for our industry.”
The Canoe Restaurant’s Bedford location, meanwhile, has closed permanently, Ouellette said.
“Our lease [at the Bedford restaurant] was already coming up with all this happening, so we decided to close that establishment,” he said. “We did tell all our employees there that they would be offered employment at any of our other restaurants.”
About 20 percent of the company’s staff was able to return. But with so many of them collecting federal unemployment benefits, Ouellette said staffing each restaurant has been an issue.
“They’re making upwards of 30 to 40 percent more per week if not more than that [on unemployment] than they would normally make on a weekly basis,” he said.
The Common Man, according to communications and community relations director Erica Auciello Murphy, has reopened all of its existing patios and outdoor dining areas, including the Town Docks Restaurant in Meredith, a seasonal eatery that opened about a month ahead of schedule. The company’s maintenance department has even built more than 50 picnic tables, most of which went to its locations that didn’t already have outdoor sections — the Tilt’n Diner in Tilton, the Airport Diner in Manchester, and The Common Man restaurants in Merrimack and Windham.
All five of the 110 Grill’s New Hampshire locations (Nashua, Manchester, Rochester, Stratham and West Lebanon) have reopened their outdoor patios, marketing director Alicia Puputti said.
LaBelle Winery in Amherst scheduled to reopen for outdoor dining on May 20, just in time for a new summer menu that’s being rolled out this week. Owner and winemaker Amy LaBelle said a large tent has been put up on the terrace to accommodate between 60 and 70 diners.
“We’ve completely transformed our outdoor space,” LaBelle said, adding that socially distant outdoor wine tastings are available for patrons first-come, first-served using high-top tables.
Highlights of this year’s summer menu include a full line of new cocktails, new offerings using The Winemaker’s Kitchen culinary products, and, for the first time, some smoked items using wine-soaked oak.
“I think my team really needed to do something creative that was hopeful and helped us to look forward,” LaBelle said.
George Sklavounos of Giorgio’s Ristorante & Bar said all three of its locations have reopened for outdoor dining — the Milford location already has a built-in patio, while in Manchester and Merrimack tents and picnic tables are being added on the grass and over part of the parking lots.
“We have our full menu available and some spring specials, and all of our restaurants are still doing takeout as well,” Sklavounos said. “We’ve been doing OK with takeout, but obviously we need to be open if we’re going to sustain our business.”
In Nashua, Martha’s Exchange Restaurant & Brewery now has 13 outdoor tables available that are spaced eight feet apart from each other, both right out in front and on a nearby patio, general manager Tanya Barry said. The eatery, which had been offering a limited takeout and delivery menu three nights a week, has expanded to include more entrees, appetizers and other items.
“All of our staff has to wear masks, and we’re only having one person [go outside] at a time so that multiple servers aren’t handling multiple customers’ dishes,” Barry said.
Downtown Cheers Grille & Bar in Concord has reopened its outdoor patio to 50 percent capacity, co-owner Wendy Roy said. While the patio is normally a popular spot for local live music acts, Roy said that has been temporarily suspended to allow for more dining space.
Also reopening Monday for outdoor dining was 900 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria in Manchester, which is offering reservations and walk-ins for seating on its deck.
The Crown Tavern on Hanover Street in Manchester scheduled to reopen its outdoor patio for dinner on May 20. General manager Kiel Carroccino said the front door to the patio is being utilized as an entrance, while its back door at the rear of the building is for when guests exit, all in an effort to limit the amount of contact people have with one another. Carroccino said The Crown has added umbrellas to each table.
In Londonderry, 603 Brewery also scheduled to reopen its outdoor patio on May 20, according to marketing and events manager Morgan Kyle. All seating is waitlist or reservation only — Kyle said an online app is currently in the works to be set up for adding patrons to a wait list.
All four Red Arrow Diner locations, in Manchester, Londonderry, Concord and Nashua, are offering first-come, first-served outdoor dining now via picnic tables.
Outdoor dining options are also available at all five Tucker’s locations, in Concord, Hooksett, Merrimack, Dover and New London. Dual-sided displays have been placed on each table — if a table has already been sanitized and ready to be used, the display will be green. If a staff member still needs to disinfect the table before you sit down, the display will be orange.
Fody’s Tavern has also begun offering outdoor dining at both of its locations, via its patio at the Nashua restaurant and both on its deck and under a tent at its Derry restaurant. All of its food and drink items are being served in disposable containers and its tables continually sanitized.
New concepts
Several local eateries aren’t just reopening outdoor seats to customers; they’re taking it in stride by pivoting operations in an effort to still offer something new.
Farm-to-table eatery Greenleaf in Milford, for example, scheduled to reopen its outside patio on May 19. Its staff is also working on launching a unique outdoor dining experience called “Greenleaf Grille” that will take place in a tent-covered space in the rear of the building, according to general manager Rick Naples. That’s expected to open this Friday, May 22.
“Greenleaf Grille is going to be a lot of barbecue and grilled-type items, like burgers, sausages [and] whatever our chef can come up with,” said Naples, who likened the setup to last year’s Milford Pumpkin Festival, when Greenleaf’s staff served up sliders, beer and wine in an outdoor beer garden on Middle Street. “We’re still getting everything … from local farms, so there will definitely be some recognizable dishes on there.”
Tuscan Kitchen and Market in Salem has also been creative with the amount of outdoor space at its disposal. Joe Faro Jr. of the company’s marketing team said patio seating is available outside both buildings, with additional areas for dining in the center piazza under an open-air tent, as well as in an upstairs outside patio that’s normally used as a private dining room. One-time menus are given out to all guests. The tent in the piazza even has a pop-up container bar that handcrafted martinis are served from.
“We’re trying to use as much space as we can,” Faro said. “We also recently launched an online grocery service … where we can ship Tuscan Market products all over the country. That’s been gaining a lot of traction lately.”
Reached by phone on the morning of May 19, Faro reported that Tuscan Kitchen’s first day open for outdoor dining the day before went very well.
“It was honestly one of the most amazing things, I think, that we’ve ever done here,” he said. “We had the pizza oven going, the bar was great, [and] the weather was beautiful. … We were going around to the tables talking to people, and they seemed really happy to see the steps we’ve taken.”
In Manchester, chef and owner Tom Puskarich of Restoration Cafe has launched what he calls a “virtual plant-based kitchen” by the name of Good & Planty; the venture was in the works even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
“Good & Planty kind of started out as a thought experiment over this past winter,” Puskarich said. “The original plan was to launch it in April, and then Covid came along. … So we were pivoting the core business of Restoration [Cafe] to accommodate the new reality, and then once we got a handle on that, we went ahead and launched Good & Planty. That was on May 1.”
The idea, he said, stemmed from his desire to incorporate a healthier, plant-based option on popular delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats and GrubHub.
“I was intrigued by the idea of a ‘virtual restaurant’ and I was looking to bring really good, creative fresh food … that you don’t see when you open up these apps, so not just another wing place or pizza place,” he said.
Items from Good & Planty are available Tuesday through Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Puskarich said the menus at Restoration Cafe and its virtual counterpart are similar, but with a greater emphasis on plant-based ingredients for Good & Planty.
“There will always be … a crossover between the two concepts,” he said. “Restoration Cafe has always been very much about dietary flexibility, and Good & Planty is meant to further expand on that.”
Meanwhile, Puskarich said he’s been working with his staff to determine Restoration Cafe’s first day of offering outdoor dining on its courtyard.
A community effort
A restaurant that previously didn’t use its parking lot or sidewalk for outdoor dining can’t just put up a tent, add tables and chairs and start serving food. Depending on the city or town, many have to secure permits through their town or city health inspector.
Fifteen cities and towns in New Hampshire — Bedford, Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Derry, Dover, Exeter, Keene, Manchester, Merrimack, Nashua, Plaistow, Portsmouth, Rochester and Salem — are self-inspecting, meaning all food service licensing is regulated at the municipal level rather than through the state.
Fortunately for restaurant owners, many of these agencies have been actively working with them on the process of reopening. In Derry, for example, temporary outdoor dining applications were sent out to restaurants by the town’s Economic Development Committee. Once approved, the license is valid through June 30, but that date can be extended by the town administrator.
Bedford, another self-inspecting town, issued a similar temporary outdoor dining permit that is valid through Oct. 15. Health officer Wayne Richardson said the permit was specifically crafted for facilities that either didn’t already have approved outdoor dining via a designated area such a patio, or wished to temporarily expand their seating areas.
In a statement issued May 13, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig said city restaurants are allowed to expand outdoor dining services to sidewalks and privately owned parking lots, as long as they are in compliance with Gov. Sununu’s guidelines and they have written permission to use that space from the property owner.
“[Covid-19 has] required us to be creative and think differently to make sure we’re doing whatever we can to support our local economy,” Craig said in the statement.
Craig’s office, in conjunction with the City Clerk, Fire, Police, Health, Public Works and Planning and Community Development departments, issued a series of guidelines for those establishments that do expand dining into parking lots. Those that are must submit a diagram to the city that outlines where they plan to have the seats.
As of May 18, there haven’t been any road closures in the Queen City, but according to Lauren Smith, Mayor Craig’s Chief of Staff, it is an issue that’s being discussed.
No public streets have closed in Concord either, but health and licensing officer Gwen Williams said the Concord City Council is working with restaurant owners to help them reopen by issuing temporary permits and waiving fees associated with public parking spaces. She added that outside of downtown, the city is also working with restaurants to explore the use of their private parking lots and lawn areas.
For restaurants that already hold on-premise liquor licenses, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission issued a document outlining guidelines and frequently asked questions. Adding a mobile bar and serving station outside is permitted for licensees, and so is serving spirits outdoors, but if it’s in a shared parking lot, sidewalk or other shared space, then that requires city or town approval.
Staying closed
Despite being allowed to, a few restaurateurs are choosing not to reopen their establishments for outdoor dining. One of them is Cotton in Manchester, which has temporarily ceased all operations since March 16, including takeout, according to chef and owner Jeffrey Paige.
Cotton does have a small outdoor patio, but with social distancing requirements in place, Paige said that would have left room for just four tables.
“We decided to just hunker down and hold onto our resources,” he said. “We were fortunate to have some money saved up, and we’ve been taking advantage of the time doing a lot of maintenance at the restaurant.”
Across the Merrimack River, KC’s Rib Shack on Second Street is also remaining closed, even though the eatery reported tremendous success with takeout and curbside pickup.
“It was like Lucille Ball at the chocolate factory,” KC’s owner Kevin Cornish said. “The orders were coming in sometimes 10 at a time, and we ended up shutting the online app off because we just couldn’t keep up.”
Cornish said supply chain hiccups ended up prompting him to close about three weeks ago. Chicken was the hardest product to get consistently, followed by ribs and hamburger meat.
“It became increasingly more and more difficult to get really good-quality meat,” he said. “It was going up three times in price, and I saw the writing on the wall that it wasn’t going to be very long before I couldn’t get product at all.”
For now, Cornish said he’s not in any rush to reopen — he’s using the time to renovate some sections of the restaurant.
Even though it has an outdoor patio, Firefly American Bistro & Bar is using it only for customers to sit and have a drink while they wait for their takeout meals. Firefly’s staff is enforcing a maximum two drink rule per person.
In Merrimack, Able Ebenezer Brewing Co. normally has outdoor picnic tables but has opted to keep its bar closed. In an update posted to the brewery’s website on May 14, owner and head brewer Carl Soderberg said he and his staff will “monitor the state’s phases as we progress, and announce a reopening date once we’re ready.”
Schoodacs in Warner also remains temporarily closed due to economic challenges caused by Covid-19. In a May 13 post on the coffee shop’s Facebook page, owner Darryl Parker cited “greater liabilities in the public health, the health of our employees … and personal financial risks incurred in being in the food business during this crisis.” He went on to say that the space will be made available for lease in June, and that the space is already attracting interest from potential new operators. Holders of Schoodacs gift certificates can still redeem them through May 29 for packaged coffee, tea, mugs and other retail items.
