LANSING, Mich. — Business models upended, profit margins slashed, and dramatic changes inside. Those are just some of what the restaurant industry is facing as it navigates its way through the COVID-19 pandemic. With all 50 states now back open in some fashion. Maya Rodriguez returned to one of the earliest states to reopen to see how jobs especially in the restaurant industry are faring now.
It’s the midday hustle and bustle at Johnny D’s Waffles and Benedicts.
For chef and owner Jamie Daskalis, it’s a welcome sight at her Myrtle Beach, South Carolina restaurant. “It's been going really good the last week.”
We first visited the restaurant in April when South Carolina became one of the first states in the country to reopen.
At the time Restaurants were still only allowed to offer takeout and delivery.
Now,that’s changed.
Daskalis explains “our wait times, of course, are a lot higher now than they would be.”
That’s because seating is now reduced by half to comply with social distancing along with other changes like disposable menus.
The moves are just a few of the ones now in place at restaurants across the state and the country.
“We did single serve everything, as far as condiments, so that way everything just goes in the trash after the customer left. We had a little bit more staff on ought to be able to help us to sanitize the tables, so we wipe down the table the chairs.”
For customers, the changes are noticeable, but not overwhelming.
Taylor Spadaro, a customer at Johnny D's “once we've sat down, we realized like, ‘oh, everybody's at their spaced out differently, but it's still it's still it works.” and they say just getting to experience indoor dining again… is a relief. “The sense of normalcy is it's nice. i think we need to feel a little bit more normalcy because it really calms me down.”
Still, the restaurant industry across the country is suffering. many have not been able to bring back their full staff yet -- and the national restaurant association says 8-million of those restaurant workers remain furloughed.
At Johnny D’s Jamie Daskalis managed to hire back all of her staff, “Every single one of them came back without hesitation” and even though revenue is down 25-percent she’s grateful Johnny D’s is still around and in business.
Daskalis said it best, “I feel fortunatefor the business that we're doing now.”
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