‘It’s trial or failure now.’ Eastern Ky. restaurants focused on keeping doors open

The steps that Gov. Andy Beshear took on March 16 shutting down the option to dine-in at restaurants across the Commonwealth may have been done out of safety to suppress the spread of coronavirus. But for restaurant owners, it was a day summed up in calamity and anxiety.

Restaurants in the thriving and growing culinary scene of Lexington have felt the sting of having to switch to carryout and delivery, resulting in sharp decreases in sales and even restaurant closures that range from temporary to permanent. The same can be said for places outside of Lexington.

One of Pikeville’s only fine dining establishments, The Blue Raven, announced on its Facebook page it would be closed until it was allowed to reopen for dine-in service. The Blue Isle Home-Style Restaurant and Bar closed its new Mt. Sterling location temporarily and now only offers take-out from its flagship location in Winchester.

Local restaurants in smaller Kentucky communities that have stayed open are doing what they can to adapt and survive the pandemic and unpredictable future, focused on keeping their businesses afloat.

Madison Garden Bar and Grill: 31 employees to three

The weeks leading up to the restaurant shutdown was an exciting time for Madison Garden Bar and Grill, Richmond’s oldest downtown restaurant. Jason Vaughn, general manager, said he and his staff were experimenting with a new cocktail menu that was really coming together.

He said that plan was immediately “put to a dead halt” and changed to something simpler and more essential.

“It’s survive. Pinch pennies. Push productivity and try to keep in touch with your customers and make sure you know they are appreciative and try to find ways and reasons for them to come to you and eat,” Vaughn said. “There’s no luxury of trial and error. It’s trial or failure now.”

The restaurant immediately switched to take-out and operating as a drive-thru thanks to working with the city to secure a few parking spots out in front of the restaurant. They also tried out delivery for the first time, working with national services like Uber Eats and GrubHub along with the Richmond-based delivery company Colonel Delivery.

But Vaughn said while the decisions to switch its business model were easy, the decision on what to do regarding the restaurant’s employees wasn’t.

“It was pretty terrible to go from 31 employees to three,” Vaughn said. “It was the worst day of my life to have to tell those people they were all unemployed.”

Vaughn said while Madison Garden has undergone “an extreme loss of business,” he said the community has really stepped up to support the restaurant. He was even forced to rehire one of his cooks and he rehired a bartender to work in a different capacity due to the demand of the restaurant’s take-out and delivery orders.

“After the first day, I knew I needed help,” he said. “I can’t wait until I hire them all back.”

For Madison Garden, Vaughn thinks what is really helping is the loyalty of its customers. He thinks that is ultimately what is going to allow this long-standing restaurant to survive this hopefully short-term setback.

“The community has just come out and really supported us in a huge way,” he said.

CoffeeTree Books and Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop: Credit card only

As the co-owner of CoffeeTree Books and Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop in Morehead, Susan Thomas is used to her business having a slow week in the spring due to nearby Morehead State University sending students home for spring break. Then, they were hit with news of the restaurant dine-in shutdown and MSU canceling in-person classes and moving them online until April 3. The university later announced it was closing in-person classes for the semester, transitioning them online and requiring most students living on campus to move out.

“We’re not used to that kind of down,” Thomas said of her business sales. “Our customer base are students and they are gone. They’re 8,000 students who just aren’t here.”

In addition to having to completely close the bookstore portion of the business and limiting hours in the coffee shop, Thomas said the shop started selling some of its pastries in bulk and adopted a completely new approach to comply with social distancing measures. Now, customers must call the coffee shop to give their order, credit card information (the shop currently doesn’t accept cash) and a time they will pick their order up. When they pull up, their order will be sitting on a table outside to avoid any face-to-face interactions.

“A lot of times, we stand at the window and wave at you because we know a lot of our customers,” Thomas said.

Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop is so tied to the community that it rarely relied on social media to increase business. Now, they are doing more social media than ever, including videos featuring its baristas walking viewers through how the shop makes its croissants and scones, not to mention the extra packaging and constant cleaning.

“Honestly, it’s hard because we do have limited hours and we’re scrambling,” Thomas said. “Everything is hard.”

Thomas said the silver lining continues to be the positive comments she receives from customers and anxiously awaits the day circumstances change to where community regulars can be gathering there again.

“I try to be positive about it but every day, you have to take it as it comes,” she said.

The Grill Father: Pivot to family meals

Like many other places, Mt. Sterling’s The Grill Father, a restaurant specializing in smoked meats, barbecue and grilled entrees, immediately started switching to a carryout-only business with relatively normal business hours. Adam Lawhorn, co-owner and chef at the restaurant, immediately saw that was a losing proposition for his business.

“The last day I was open, I did $34 for lunch,” Lawhorn said. “We took a couple days, a week or so, to kind of zone in and try to figure out what’s our best chance of riding this thing out.”

The Grill Father decided to start offering family-style meal packages for four that can be picked up from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday’s and Friday’s. The packages typically range from $25 to just over $30 and usually features a meat entree, two sides and occasionally a dessert. The restaurant has been detailing its offerings on social media and takes orders up until 5 p.m. Tuesday for Wednesday’s offerings and 5 p.m. Thursday for Friday’s meal.

“When we smoke food, brisket smokes for 14 hours. Now, what do I do with what I don’t sell? Preparing food for who may come and who may not come doesn’t make any sense,” Lawhorn said. “I’m putting in longer days because now, I’m trying to cook everything the day of.”

According to Lawhorn, it appears to be a winning strategy and the restaurant is doing about 50 to 60 percent of its normal business.

“As far as the money we’re making, we’re doing alright ... but it’s not leaving a lot extra to take home,” he said. “Once you get past the food cost and the overhead and stuff, that’s where it’s getting tight.”

Lawhorn said after The Grill Father’s first year of business, it was contemplating moving into a larger location. Now, as a chef by trade and former catering manager, he is simply focused on keeping doors open.

“If we can go it a month, it should be OK,” he said in mid-April. “The idea is to, at all costs, keep the restaurant because I don’t know where to even find a job right now.”