Gov. Phil Scott ordered all restaurants in Vermont to shut down except for take-out and delivery by Tuesday afternoon and until at least April 6. But many restaurants owners are wondering if they鈥檒l still have a business to reopen when the order lifts.
Revenue losses in the coming weeks could turn into permanent ones if the state and federal government don鈥檛 supply emergency aid, according to some restaurant owners.
A last beer and goodbyes at The Killarney
Last call was at 2 p.m. on Tuesday 鈥� St. Patrick鈥檚 Day. A few people came out before then to The Killarney pub at the base of Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, and they were celebrating: Green lights were strung across the bar, Irish music was blaring, and the four leaf clovers scripted into the pint of every Guinness were perfect.
Mark Verespy has owned this family pub for 15 years and, yeah, he understands why the governor didn鈥檛 want the bars open.
鈥淟ousy timing, but I guess understandable if they鈥檙e trying to control large gatherings,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is definitely a place that would be a large gathering on St. Patrick鈥檚 Day.鈥�
Scott issued his order Monday evening, and so Verespy was on the phone all Tuesday morning, talking to his distributors, cutting down on the trash service, and trying to figure out how he will survive.
鈥淢y biggest concern is that they鈥檙e forcing me to close my business, and I haven鈥檛 heard anybody tell me that I don鈥檛 have to continue to pay taxes, continue to pay my electric, continue to pay my landlord, or my mortgage, my insurance,鈥� Verespy said. 鈥淵ou know, all of these bills, I spent my whole morning on the phone with people who I have auto-pays with, concerned that these payments will continue to come out, and I鈥檝e got nothing going in.鈥�
As for The Killarney鈥檚 patrons, they鈥檙e sad about losing 鈥� at least temporarily 鈥� their social spot.
Mark Redmond lives nearby and he said he comes by often, to eat dinner, drink a few beers, and meet up with his friends.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 kind of depressed right now, because this is closing down, and this is kind of like our 鈥� where we all gather,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like the meeting point for everybody. You know it鈥檚 going to be shut down for like three weeks. And it鈥檚 like, where are we going to meet?鈥�
Isa O鈥橞rien teaches snowboarding at Okemo, and she鈥檚 already feeling the impact of the coronavirus on her life.
But she has friends in Europe, and she understands why so much is changing before our eyes.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to control the situation, which I respect that,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淟ike, I鈥檓 not mad at the mountain, like Vail, for closing the mountain, or anything like that, or any of the other mountains that are closing, because it鈥檚 honestly, like an issue that I felt like some people are not taking seriously enough. But, it needs to be dealt with, because it is serious. You can believe it鈥檚 not serious, but it is.鈥�
In the meantime, The Killarney will offer take-out food while the pub and restaurant is closed. The owner said they鈥檝e already scheduled a special coronavirus St. Patrick鈥檚 Day for the 17th of whatever month they open back up. He said they鈥檒l bring in an Irish band, put in an extra line of Guinness, and celebrate.
In central Vermont, a call for aid
Doug Doenges spent his Tuesday morning chatting with the regulars at Soup-N-Greens, the Barre restaurant he and his wife have owned for 35 years.
Doenges said he didn鈥檛 see the governor鈥檚 order coming, though in hindsight he said it seems like the closures were inevitable, given the spread of COVID-19 in Vermont.
鈥淚 think I had my head in the sand,鈥� he said.
Soup-N-Greens is the kind of place you can still get a plate of eggs and your choice of meat for $5.50. It's the kind of place where the owner and his staff know most of their diners by name.
鈥淎nd 95% of my trade are local people that are here every day,鈥� Doenges said. 鈥淭his is their spot, and I don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e going to do.鈥�
Doenges isn鈥檛 sure what he鈥檚 going to do, either. He has business interruption insurance, but has no idea whether it covers a government-ordered closure. He said his primary concerns right now are the 37 employees who cook and serve the three meal services Soup -N-Greens offers every day, seven days a week.
鈥淎 lot of my servers, you know, they鈥檙e dependent on their tips. And they鈥檙e not going to have that, so this is a scary time for everyone,鈥� Doenges said.
He added he has 鈥渆very intention of coming back鈥� when the emergency closure order lifts, but is in uncharted waters right now.
鈥淚 was just talking with Fred over here and he said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 think anybody鈥檚 lived through this,鈥欌�� Doenges said. 鈥淢aybe my grandparents鈥� generation through the Great Depression, but no one alive today has lived through this.鈥�
Restaurant owners across Vermont are trying to find their footing on the slippery new normal.
At Tres Amigos, a Mexican restaurant in Stowe, co-owner Mark Frier was taking stock of about $3,000 worth of food in the kitchen Tuesday morning.
鈥淪o basically, we鈥檙e going through all our inventory and figuring out first of all, what we can freeze, and then whatever we can鈥檛 save, we鈥檙e offering up to our employees to just basically come in and do some grocery shopping,鈥� he said.
Frier co-owns three restaurants in central Vermont. He said his mind is mostly occupied right now with the 150 or so employees he鈥檒l have to lay off.
鈥淲e鈥檙e worried that staff are going to have difficulty with making rent, getting kicked out of their places, utilities,鈥� Frier said. 鈥淵ou know, we鈥檙e going to do everything we can as business owners, but we just don鈥檛 have the cash to sustain a payroll. Some employees are going to have to end up on unemployment.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 also worried about making sure they have a job to come back to when restaurants are eventually allowed to reopen: Restaurants like his have enormous fixed costs that aren鈥檛 going to disappear during the mandatory closure period, costs such as the mortgages he carries on the three buildings his restaurants operate out of.
鈥淭here are certain fixed costs that we have to try to carry over this time," Frier said. "We鈥檝e already been in touch with the banks to tell them we鈥檙e going to try to figure out how to survive this, but we need your help navigating that a little bit."
And survival for many restaurant owners, Frier said, is going to require extraordinary interventions by the state and federal government.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have to start treating this like it is a true natural disaster, and I think this could be worse than [Tropical Storm] Irene to the communities of Vermont," he said. 鈥淭here are so many businesses that are going to need ways to be bailed out of this, or we鈥檙e just never going to be able to open our doors again."
Amy Spears is with the , which is the state affiliate of the . She isn鈥檛 sure how many restaurants Vermont has.
鈥淏ut I do know that there are over 32,000 jobs in the tourism sector in the state of Vermont, and that equates to 10% of Vermont鈥檚 workforce, which is a significant number for sure,鈥� Spears said.
She said it鈥檚 difficult to overstate the economic disruption that the tourism industry is dealing with right now, adding that the Vermont Chamber of Commerce is seeking emergency aid measures from lawmakers in Montpelier and Washington, D.C..
In the meantime, restaurant owners like John Cummings, at Park Row Caf茅 in Waterbury, are trying to get creative. He said he鈥檚 transitioning to a takeout and delivery service.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to try,鈥� Cummings said. 鈥淚n this business, I guess you can never really say you鈥檙e going to do something and have it pan out the way you hope. But you just kind of do things on the fly and hope they work out for you.鈥�
