Restaurant Owners Look For Guidance As They Wait To Reopen In Phase Two
BOSTON (CBS) - Massachusetts restaurant owners are still waiting to hear when they can open in Phase Two.
"We have to make it work," said David Doyle, regional manager for the Rebel Restaurants Group. He has a dozen restaurants in the Boston area, like Tony C's in the Seaport District. "They're usually full, with people enjoying sports and the atmosphere. Not having a bar, just table seating, is going to be different in a sports bar."
He's fortunate he has added patio space on Boston Harbor, but there may also be menu changes based on the food supply.
To bring customers back in, restaurant manager Luis Luna said the staff will be trained and those customers need confidence. "Knowledge is power, and as long as they're confident that they're doing the right thing, taking care of themselves, they'll have the confidence to go to a table and answer questions to give people peace of mind," said Luna.
North End restaurant owner Donato Frattaroli is looking for some confidence himself with Il Molo in a much smaller location. He said the state has offered restaurants little in the way of concrete guidance such as a re-opening date or even restaurant capacity for him to prepare to re-open.
"There needs to be some way to ensure that once we are open, we stay open. If we open and are forced to close with perishable goods, it's like lighting money on fire," said Frattaroli. Losing 50 percent of his tables to create social distancing would be a losing proposition for him. "There's too much up in the air."
