FOOD YOUNG & HUNGRY
Cold Cuts
have dialed back activities of their own volition, opting to focus on takeout and delivery for the time being. In discussing the rationale behind their tough calls, they all mention their employees. When restaurants swing from being open to closed except for takeout, they typically reduce staffing levels. Job security is low and the District’s unemployment system continues to be difficult to navigate.
With COVID-19 cases climbing once more, four bars and restaurants that received winterization grants are focusing on takeout and delivery instead.
When Sandra Basanti answers the phone, she sits in the dark, decade-old dining room of Pie Shop on H Street NE, peering at a picture of Bob Marley on the wall. Her business is part restaurant and part performance venue—she misses the music most of all. “My entire life, my therapy, my escape, and community revolves around the live music scene and going to shows and seeing familiar faces,” she says. “That’s just not going to happen this year.” Ten months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Basanti’s morale is suffering. Like all entrepreneurs, she prefers to be in the driver’s seat, making plans and projections. “Being at the mercy of the city and what’s happening in the country and the world, that part is nerve-wracking,” she says. “The mental gymnastics of it all is exhausting. The back and forth. The yo-yoing. We all have whiplash from the different rules and regulations that are constantly changing. The mental burnout is so real.” Fluctuating operating restrictions that accompany the city’s phased reopening process have exhausted the owners and staff of local bars and restaurants. District leaders have frequently adjusted policies since the stay-at-home order was lifted on May 29, as they try to mitigate risk while dealing with the consequences of the pandemic and the accompanying economic recession. Restaurants have been crawling toward a hazy finish line, hoping the federal government will finally step in with targeted relief, even though it might be too late. Most recently, Mayor Muriel Bowser mandated restaurants reduce their indoor seating capacities from 50 to 25 percent starting Dec. 14. Jurisdictions across the country are ending indoor dining because multiple studies deem the activity risky. She also imposed a 10 p.m. cutoff for on-premises alcohol sales. These moves come as D.C. recorded 1,451 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths in the first five days of December alone. Some owners have opted not to open to the full extent the District permits. City Paper spoke with Basanti and three other operators who
Illustration by Julia Terbrock
By Laura Hayes @LauraHayesDC
26 december 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com
Pie Shop’s dining room has remained closed throughout the pandemic, but Basanti opened the establishment’s patio in September. Optimistic she could attract customers even in the cold, she applied for a $6,000 winterization grant from the District. She spent $2,000 of the money she received on marketing the patio, but ultimately returned the grant. The money wasn’t a match for the risk. “It wasn’t financially sustainable,” Basanti says. “We appreciated the people who did come, but it’s not the kind of place where you’re going to spend $100 per person on pie and drinks. We decided we’re not even going to try when cases kept spiking. Temperatures are going to drop. It’s flu season. It’s not worth the risk to employees and patrons. We made the call finally and returned the funds.” Basanti wishes aid arrived in a different order. The winterization grant had a swift spending deadline and tight stipulations on how the money could be allocated, and only benefitted venues with outdoor space. “I wish that they had rolled out the Bridge Fund earlier instead of winterization, because then people really could have gotten money that could be used for all sorts of things,” she says. The Bridge Fund is a $100 million grant program earmarked for D.C.’s hardest hit sectors: hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and retail. The city is tending to hotels first, but restaurants will see the largest disbursement of grant money—$35 million in total. The application process opened Monday, Dec. 7. Like all grants, there are guidelines for how funds can be spent, but there’s far more wiggle room. “They should have rolled this out in August to get ahead of the winter,” Basanti says. “If we can get assistance, I hope I can give my staff some mental health paid time off to decompress. And like everybody, we have fixed costs. I really avoid thinking too far into the future because it’s too daunting.” Shaw bar Ivy and Coney can also only think in the immediate term and decided to close its outdoor space, despite investing time and resources to make it cozy. Sunday, Dec. 6, was the last day patrons could dine and drink on the roof deck until the owners feel confident operating again. In the meantime, they’ll focus on takeout and delivery, just as they did from mid-March through late July, when they first welcomed customers onto the roof. They have yet to reopen their indoor space. “Ninety-five percent of the decision was the rise in cases,” says co-owner Josh Saltzman. “It looks like it’s going to get worse once the results of Thanksgiving come in. It’s not safe right now. We did one last weekend to get some more money into our staff’s pockets so we can
