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[title]It's been nearly two months since all of South Florida's bars and restaurants closed their dining rooms and countertops to the public. In Miami-Dade, that translated to approximately 3,500 businesses shuttering temporarily and, in some cases, even permanently. What’s transpired in the local hospitality industry has been a mixed bag of shock, sorrow and ingenuity. Award-winning mixologists shut down their bars; restaurateurs struggled but pivoted. Out-of-work chefs turned their homes into industrious ghost kitchens. And Instagram became one long string of live cooking demos. So what’s next for Miami’s food and drink community as the county-wide shutdown seemingly nears? The short answer is not much—for now.
On Friday, May 8, Mayor Carlos Giménez announced he’d set May 18 as the target date to reopen businesses in phase one. The yet-to-be-determined plan would likely follow the state’s, in which restaurants would be allowed to operate with a 25-percent occupancy rate while following the CDC’s guidelines for safe social-distancing. Miami doesn’t have proper bars in the way that cities like New York and Chicago do, so lifting the stay-at-home order would affect the imminent future of bars, too. Most of our watering holes are attached to restaurants, are inside hotels (which complicates matters even more) or they serve food (even lushes love to nosh).
So is reopening a quarter of your establishment to the public really worth it? Not to most operators. “I’ve been talking to restaurant and bar owners every day and the consensus is that there’s no point to opening with only 25-percent capacity,” says Giovanny Gutierrez, ambassador for Havana Club rum, who also runs food and drink website ChatChow TV. “I get it; think about the positions they’d have to add to the payroll if they did.” Matt Kuscher of Kush Hospitality is one those restaurateurs who’s not ready to gamble on the future of his team. He’s had to temporarily close some of his restaurants and, unfortunately, cut a number of positions in the process. “I’m going to take my time opening because I don’t want to bring staff back to have to go through this again,” he says. Takeout might be the model until there's a vaccine. "I just don't see people comfortable going out to eat."
For bar/restaurants like Jaguar Sun that have had to pivot to a delivery and takeout model for the first time, reopening to diners right now just isn’t solvent. “One way or the other, we got to the point where we’re growing and things are working now, some better than others,” says co-owner Will Thompson, who’s waiting for clearer instructions from the government before making a decision. For now, they’ve leaned into the business of cocktails to-go and stayed nimble with their menu, introducing specials and one-offs to keep locals interested. “We’ve turned takeout into somewhat of a healthy revenue stream and though I can’t say it’s enough to continue to exist long term, we’re going to keep doing it to the best of our ability for now.”
Still, you have owners willing and ready to welcome guests back into their dining rooms almost immediately despite the potential financial burdens they’ll face. “I’m absolutely opening even though I know my costs will be higher,” says Mika León, chef and owner of Caja Caliente in Coral Gables. “I know my cleaning costs are going to double sanitizing the space, and I’ll have to pay to provide masks to my employees, but as long as we’re breaking even, I’m happy. I want to be there for my community.”
Once places do reopen, customers can expect stark differences, from digital menus replacing paper versions and tables sectioned off by plexiglass to reservation-only seating. “A server’s role will change in a really fundamental way, and I see that having big implications in what service feels like when you go out,” adds Thompson.
It’s a perilous situation, one we’re all navigating through with equal parts trepidation and optimism. “It’s going to be interesting because it’s not like a light switch is going to go off, where everything is going to go back to normal. But I think the community is going to support these places,” says Yelp Miami’s senior community manager Diandra Lamas, who’s been working closely with local businesses since the lockdown began. “I believe in the magic of this Magic City. It might be strange at first, but we’re a city of such passionate people that I know were going to figure it out—whenever that is.”