Eateries Adjusting To New Normal Across Area

Some Lower Bucks County restaurants are struggling to fill to the maximum allowed 50 percent capacity as in-building dining has resumed under the “green phase,” part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s economic reopening plan, since Friday, according to several business owners.

“Not many people have been eating something in. They just come, pick it up, and order for delivery. Before, we had large lunches with construction workers, school officials,” said Hugo Montoya, the owner of Sports Pizza in Falls Township’s Morrisville section since 2013. “Every morning, the room was too small. Everyone came and had lunch…[now] I only allow like six people because that’s how many booths I have.”

Kristy Runner, manager of Dacey’s Pub in Morrisville Borough for 20 years, said that her business was operating at 30 to 35 percent capacity, adding that traffic has been trickling back in slowly.

“A lot of our regulars said they’d be coming back, they’d just give it a couple of weeks,” she said, adding that the once the requirement that restaurants restrict patrons was lifted, it would be a signal of confidence to potential consumers.

This decline in consumers has the potential to devastate even chain restaurants in the county, with Oxford Valley’s Macaroni Grill shuttered in March. The International Business Times reported last Wednesday that more than 20 percent of restaurants could file for bankruptcy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Montoya said the rise of delivery and pick-up services have blunted the blow.

“I probably lost 25 percent of my business, but it isn’t as much as others,” he said.

Take-out remains the preferred option among most consumers at many locations. Metro Diner, located in Middletown Township, which has seen 30 percent capacity over the past few days, has about 50 percent of patrons opt for delivery, said Jack Beltiran, its owner.

“We still have a good amount doing online, Uber, and DoorDash,” he said.

For those that haven’t been able to make the adjustment, though, the situation has been dire.

“At this point a small percent are coming in, but takeout and delivery are really what are keeping the doors open, our numbers are still down 50 percent overall,” said James Armeta, owner of Christine’s Restaurant, which existed at its Lower Makefield location for 19 years.

“I think that there’s multiple things going on with this, we are entering the green phase at the worst time for us anyway, we lost our busiest quarter and we’re entering our worst, it’s going to be a struggle to survive.”

Montoya and Armeta both suggested that many people are still afraid of going out into public as the coronavirus pandemic remains in the headlines.

“I think people are still a little panicked,” Montoya explained.

“On a Saturday night, we are used to seeing 100 people, we have about 30. I have plenty of availability, but people are still fearing going out,” Armeta added. “I have 132 occupancy, people still have a fear.”

Some restaurants have taken extra steps to reassure customers or adapt to changing conditions. Runner said that Dacey’s was opening an outside deck soon and Beltiran said his diner was providing free masks and hand sanitizer to customers as well as using disposable menus to avoid the spread of germs.

“People are required to wear masks when they arrive and when they use the bathroom, we’ve been spraying everything and sanitizing and cleaning clear plastic menus,” Armeta said.

Tables with umbrellas, more tables under a wide tent, and a new door carved into the side wall of Cesare’s Italian restaurant in Bristol Borough as they adapt to the new business environment. These are owner Donnie Petolillo’s answers to dining in comfort, as quarantine restrictions are loosened.

“There was no place to go, and we were tired of sitting in the house. I feel free,” said customers Nick Lombardo, as he and Jenn waited for orders consisting of crab cakes and chicken Caesar.

At outdoor tables table, three couples happily resumed their Friday-nights-at-Cesare’s tradition, interrupted by the coronavirus. Pat and Tony Poma, Eileen and Steve Albanese, and Mike and Donna Legary have gathered at the restaurant every weekend for the past 22 years.

Exchanging the inside booths for a table in the parking lot and a tent hung with fairy lights, a palm tree in the background, and a raised planter filled with vibrant summer flowers for décor, was a delightful change of scene, according to customer Eileen Legary.

“I feel like I’m on vacation,” she said.

Months of enforced pickup-only service, and now outside eating, is still only a partial victory. When customers are allowed back inside, patronage will still be limited. But the owner of this landmark restaurant – a family business started 74 years ago –  keeps a smooth  attitude: roll with the punches, adapt when necessary, Petolillo said.

On days when customers formed long lines in Cesare’s parking lot to wait for their curb-service food, changes in procedures were introduced. Order tickets were reconfigured, and walkie-talkies kept the lines of communication open. Simplicity reigned.

In addition, there were no layoffs during the crisis. All 35 Cesare’s employees were kept on the regular payroll.

“I only take advice from two places: my employees and my customers,” said Petolillo, who is often seen behind the kitchen counter dressed in shirt and tie, flipping pizza dough alongside his workers and his son, John. Minutes later, as is his usual routine, he circulates among his tables to talk to the diners, to share a joke, or ask about the food and the service.

In recent days, financial markets and business owners have been spooked by reports of rising coronavirus cases in states which ended lockdowns in the past few weeks. Texas and Florida closed bars in response to a surge of cases, and White House advisor Peter Navarro confirmed that the Trump administration was preparing for a second wave of the virus, according to the Financial Times.

Asked about the potential of a second wave to disrupt reopening plans in Bucks County, Beltiran said another lockdown was unlikely even in that event, but “if it happens, it happens,” adding that state and county officials had done a good job limiting the number of cases.

“It’s not that bad, but it will take another four or five months,” said Montoya. “I really hope so, so things return to normal here. I guess maybe not the same, but it will be better.”

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