Dining picture still evolving as pandemic restrictions ease

Local restaurants have been forced to adapt new restrictions during the pandemic. Now, they’re searching for the best path forward.|

Insight: Life After The Pandemic

This story is part of a new quarterly special section at The Press Democrat focusing on stories and issues of community-wide importance. This debut edition, publishing in print on March 28, is focused on stories examining how our lives will be different after the pandemic abates. Look for the next Insight section in late June.

Read all the stories here.

The staff at Taub Family Outpost off the Sonoma Plaza barely had time to serve their first heirloom grain breakfast bowl before COVID-19 forced them to shut down their dining space last March.

They canceled their grand opening party planned for later that month. The new restaurant, spirits lounge, wine shop and gourmet market shrunk to takeout food sales, online shopping and curbside pickup.

Through the year, Taub, like all other restaurants in the region, struggled to navigate confusing twists and turns in health regulations, with patio dining opening up, then closing and inside dining opening up, then closing. Staff donned masks and gloves and kept 6 feet away from everyone. Menus were laminated for easy cleaning with disinfectant and tables were spread out for social distancing. Many restaurants, like Gravenstein Grill in Sebastopol, turned to abbreviated menus of burgers and pizzas instead of more labor-intensive fine fare.

Now, with Sonoma County in the red tier stage of reopening as of March 14, restaurants can welcome diners inside at 25% of their full capacity. As employees slowly return to work, furniture is set up again and customers start venturing back in, we’re left to wonder — what will the restaurant world look like going forward?

Certainly the pandemic has left its mark, as some area favorites and longtime spots were forced to close for good with the added financial pressure of the past year. Among them were Bollywood, Bruno’s and Bistro 29 in Santa Rosa, Whisper Sisters in downtown Petaluma and Brass Rabbit on Healdsburg Plaza.

But many restaurateurs are hopeful 2021 will see the return of full service, without another pandemic surge. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the safety measures they have had to implement over the past year will remain, as consumers have adapted to and now even appreciate the new structures.

On the top of that “keeper” list is enhanced patio dining, much in demand thanks to Wine Country’s generally mild climate. Taub General Manager Martín Gobbée said the pandemic actually brought the restaurant a bonus — the discovery of a secret patio behind a former pottery store next door.

Taub leased the space and added an open-sided tent and heaters for winter weather. They’ve been so successful with dinner and brunch service there that they’re going to keep it going.

That segues to another likely permanent feature — more breathing room for diners. The Taub patio seats about 50, with tables socially distanced, and Gobbée said there’s no plan to cram in more diners as probably would have been done in the past.

“We’re not New York, where some restaurants are so tightly packed you have to move your table just to get to your chair,” he said.

What other COVID-19 contemporary dining amenities can we expect to continue? For one, paper menus might become a thing of the past.

Electronic menus

At first, restaurateurs scrambled to add online ordering applications to their websites. The move turned out to be a hit with diners who preferred the ease of simply clicking, paying virtually and grabbing takeout without having to wait or dressing up for a meal. Customers found they could add special instructions (no onions on that burger, please) with greater guarantee that the restaurant would get the order right.

Now, dine-in meals are getting that tech touch, too. At the new Wit & Wisdom in Sonoma, guests get a laminated QR code card to scan with their phone to see the menu, including everything from appetizers to desserts to cocktails and the extensive wine list. To see an old-fashioned, simple paper printout, customers must ask for one.

Print may go away, all around. At the new Ippinn Sushi & Ramen in Santa Rosa, restaurant owner Frank Wu was constantly updating his menu to reflect changing fish market pricing and specials. Rather than constantly eating up paper stock, he introduced tablets placed at every table, so customers can send orders directly to the kitchen. It’s fun for the guests, he said, and much more efficient for staff.

Parklets

Improvised al fresco spots sprung up quickly last year, taking over parking spaces and sidewalks as restaurateurs built temporary, open-sided seating areas. A three-block section of Fourth Street in Santa Rosa was shut down to accommodate dining tables.

Diners have responded positively to these stylish gathering cubbies, which feel cosmopolitan and are great for people-watching, so restaurateurs are hoping they last for the long term.

“Talking to our community, there is an overwhelming demand for us to maintain our outdoor dining venue for those at risk and those that are not quite comfortable with dining indoors,” said Dustin Valette, who built a 44-seat, reservations-only covered parklet last July in front of his Healdsburg restaurant. “We usually have a two-week waiting list, and we have been working with the city of Healdsburg to see how long we will be permitted to have the area.”

Valette’s parklet is fancy, complete with chandeliers and container plants. But customers have proven they also enjoy the bustle around them when seated in spots like the handful of tables set in the strip mall parking lot outside the bare-bones El Fogon Taqueria in Rohnert Park.

All-weather dining

Patios used to shut down through the winter, but thanks to tents and powerful heaters, diners now are enjoying green scenery despite the rain and chill. Vintners Resort in Santa Rosa was hit hard by the pandemic, as the entire luxury resort, including its John Ash & Co. Restaurant, was shuttered several times.

So the team ripped out what was formerly an herb garden and stretch of grass and built an elegant 650-square-foot patio that tucks up right next to the property’s vineyards and flower beds. It was busy all year long, and resort General Manager Percy Brandon doesn’t see things slowing down.

“We had to reinvent our seating situation, purchase and install tents and heaters as well as make menu changes,” he said. “But there aren’t many places where you can sit outside and enjoy such an up-close view of vineyards. The lawn area outside the restaurant that we now use for dining was pretty to look at, but it didn’t get used very often. Guests now tell us they feel transported to a beautiful oasis when they sit out there.”

High-end to-go

The pandemic brought upscale takeout, from celebrity destinations like Healdsburg’s Three Michelin Star SingleThread, pricey Barndiva and posh Valette.

“When the country went into a state of lockdown, we were faced with two options,” Valette said. “We had to either close our restaurant and lose all that we have been working toward during the past six years or do whatever we could to keep our ship upright and protect the livelihoods of our 37 employees. Five days after the state mandated closure, we created #ValetteToGo.”

The takeout program continued strong as the new patio opened; it still will be offered as indoor dining gains traction.

“We feel there is a segment of our community that, regardless of the regulations, will be more comfortable in their homes,” Valette said.

Window ordering

Contactless service has its fans, as evidenced by the line that regularly stretches outside Screamin’ Mimi’s Ice Cream in Sebastopol. After 25 years in business, the Olsen family last June reconfigured their tiny store to include a front order kiosk with a microphone and a side pickup window with sanitized trays, along with a Mimi’s Express area near the back door for orders texted ahead of time for packaged desserts.

The idea, said shop founder Maraline Olson, was to prevent overcrowding of customers, maintain social distancing in the waiting line and keep staff safe. It’s a booming business, as on any given day, ice cream lovers spread up and down the block.

Tipping on to-go orders

Restaurant workers certainly hope this tipping trend will continue. To help cement the message, many takeout receipts now include a line for suggested tips. Most range from 15% to 20%, while some places, such as Seafood and Eat in Windsor, request up to 25%.

The tips are critical during a year when national food service sales fell $255 billion since last March, according to the National Restaurant Association. Independently owned operations in particular were affected.

“All of our employees appreciate the amazing support as we go through these crazy times together,” Valette said. “Our servers and cooks are the hardest-working and most passionate professionals that I have had the privilege to work with, and the generosity of our guests has allowed us to continue doing what we love, while supporting our community including our local farmers and ranchers.”

Insight: Life After The Pandemic

This story is part of a new quarterly special section at The Press Democrat focusing on stories and issues of community-wide importance. This debut edition, publishing in print on March 28, is focused on stories examining how our lives will be different after the pandemic abates. Look for the next Insight section in late June.

Read all the stories here.

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