Dining spots scramble as Beshear orders Ky. bars, restaurants to close dine-in service
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday announced that he plans to order all restaurants in the state to close to dining in, beginning at 5 p.m.
“We are to the point now where this is a step we have to take. I want to thank everyone that stepped up and did this voluntarily,” he said. “We are asking so many people to make sacrifices. It is not lost on me that most of these are small businesses. We are going to do everything we can to be there for you. We realize the impact this will have and we will be there for you.”
Bars also will be closing, according to the governor’s announcement.
Many, from Country Boy, West Sixth and Pivot breweries in Lexington to Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, had already made a shift over the weekend to end any dining in restaurants. Doodles, a breakfast place downtown, announced this past weekend it would only allow takeout, as did Third Street Stuff, a coffee shop.
But on Monday Beshear said his order will still allow restaurants to do takeout, drive-through and delivery, if they want to.
Ordering takeout, he said, is the “patriotic duty” of every Kentuckian and he pledged that his family would order at least three times a week.
He also promised financial aid for restaurants and workers would be coming.
Still that may not be enough for most restaurants.
Closing comes at busy time for Lexington restaurants
Debbie Long, owner of Dudley’s on Short, a fine-dining restaurant in downtown Lexington, was stunned by the news. She said she estimates she would need to do 50 to 75 takeout orders just to cover the costs of staying open.
“We can’t function on the possibility of people doing takeout,” she said. “Maybe somebody might call??? ... I don’t know how we can stay open. ... I have payroll I have to make, I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
Especially during the six or seven week stretch from Keeneland — which announced it will be without spectators for at least the first two weeks — through Easter, Mother’s Day, University of Kentucky gradation and the Kentucky Derby. That period normally provides the cushion to see restaurants through into the fall, Long said.
Long said over the weekend she’d been amazed by the generosity of patrons who left hundreds of dollars in tips for her employees.
“One man gave $500 tip,” Long said. He wanted to know how many people are working today, I said, ‘maybe nine or 10, including dish washers.’ He went and got cash and said ‘I want you to give this to everyone.’”
But he wasn’t done. He came back the next day bought about $1,000 in gift cards.
‘(It) will die down’
“Who’s going to be out?” said Ilias Pappas, owner of Athenian Grill. “For the sake of the employees, I’m just going to go ahead and close at the end of day.”
He also has stopped taking catering orders because of the 50 he had, 45 had already canceled.
But he believes it is necessary.
“I believe everybody has got to say home, stay away for a month,” Pappas said. “(It) will die down, and we’ll not lose the whole season. Be back for the summer. If we let it go out of hand, we’ll lose the fall,” he said.
“The saddest part is a lot of the restaurants that are closing for this are never going to open again.”
Bar staff ‘just lost their job’
Kevin Heathcoat, co-owner of Bourbon ‘n’ Toulouse and Chevy Chase Inn on Euclid, said that he is most worried about bar staff.
“Anyone who is in the bar industry just lost their job. And they lost it for the foreseeable future. And most live paycheck to paycheck,” he said. Many also can’t afford health insurance, he said.
“The bar industry is the number one concern at this point,” he said. “Fine dining and food trucks also are a major issue.”
Many restaurants will do what they can to keep takeout going, if they can, he said. Bourbon ‘n’ Toulouse does a brisk delivery business with Grubhub and DoorDash and Heathcoat said they plan to continue doing catering to offices and places that cannot close.
“We do a lot of catering for the hospitals,” he said.
To accommodate the coronavirus restrictions, he said they are moving to online ordering through the restaurant’s Facebook page, with curbside pickup.
“Our neighbors still need to eat, and our employees still need to eat and pay the rent,” he said.
Lexington parking meters shut down
To accommodate increased curbside pickup, the Lexington Parking Authority announced it will convert several metered spaces in Chevy Chase and downtown for restaurant customer use.
“This is an effort to support local restaurants and merchants in the downtown and Chevy Chase areas as we all work together to navigate the effects of COVID-19,” the agency said in a news release.
Restaurants and merchants also can contact the LEXPARK customer service center at (859) 231-7275 or at info@lexpark.org to request a nearby meter to be converted for this use.
The meter will have a blue bag on it.
“While supplies last, the LPA will make every effort to create these opportunities for some level of business to continue under these current circumstances,” said Gary A. Means, CAPP executive director.
Restaurants, caterers scramble to inform
On Monday, restaurants were scrambling to tell customers what they would be doing. Many announced plans to continue with carryout orders. Some were signing up for delivery services.
Kentucky.com plans to share as many of these as possible on its Lexington Food & Dining News and Sharing Facebook group.
Caterers also have been hit hard by cancellation of events, with gatherings from birthday parties to Keeneland tailgating called off for now. Many are now offering take-home meal packages.
“We’re going to have a menu online, people can call, and we’ll have curb service from 10-3, and if they want it on the weekend we’ll arrange something,” said Selma Owens, owner of Selma’s Catering on Henry Clay Boulevard. She’s stocking up on comfort foods, soups, dips and the like.
“We’re not limited by menu,” she said. “If you still want to celebrate, we can make a cake. We cater, that’s what we do. These are extraordinary times and we’re going to handle it in an extraordinary way.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 10:21 AM.
