Note: Cancellations and protocols are changing rapidly. Check first with any business and with recommended policies before ordering or going out to eat.
South Floridians are familiar with the effects of hurricanes – businesses and schools closing, difficulty finding goods and services, cleaning up the neighborhood. But dealing with the coronavirus is different. The scale is global, and the stakes are high.
As the situation changes rapidly, so do the rules, regulations and protocols. The reality of a massive change in daily life reveals itself for both businesses and consumers – everything must grind to a halt in order to contain the coronavirus. It’s a huge challenge anywhere, but especially in a busy metropolitan area at the height of its tourist season and spring break.
Ways to aid out-of-work restaurant employees have shifted into overtime. Alongside organized efforts seeking relief from the state are grassroots initiatives to put dollars in the pockets of laid-off workers as soon as possible.
Restaurant broker Felix Bendersky and chef/restaurateur Brad Kilgore wanted a simple way to raise money and get it quickly and efficiently into the hands of those who need it the most. Their solution, based on a similar idea in Boston: set up a Go Fund Me that would turn donations into grants for those who lost jobs because of COVID-19 restaurant closures. Those eligible are full-time restaurant workers in South Florida who depend on wages plus tips to cover basic living expenses and provide for their families.
“It’s hard to ask people for money right now, but unemployment isn’t enough,” says Kilgore. “People need groceries.”
The goal is to provide $250 grants to as many qualifying grantees as possible with 100% of donations going directly to those affected. Applicants fill out an online form, including details about their employment and recent paystubs. It’s first-come, first-served.
Donors can chip in anything they want – a dollar or $10,000. They’re looking for sponsors to match donations and build the fund. Click here.
The relief fund addresses immediate needs. In the longer term, Bendersky, whose company, F and B Hospitality Leasing provides real estate advising to the hospitality community, says industry people are starting to adapt instead of panic. He cited speedy restaurant conversions to delivery and food halls looking at switching to a commissary kitchen model.
UPDATE: Miami's Cobaya Underground Dinner Club has joined in to encourage diners to support this effort by offering highly coveted spots to future events in return for donations. If you make a $250 contribution to the fund, they will guarantee two seats at their next Cobaya event once business is back in action. "We'll do this for the first 25 people who make a $250 contribution and send us confirmation by email. That's roughly the cost of a couple seats at one of our events, or a really nice dinner for two," notes their website, adding that participants will still need to purchase seats to the event. But, they say, "this will guarantee you a spot; given that we usually get about ten times as many requests as we're able to fulfill, and we know that's a source of much frustration for everyone, that's surely worth something?"
In Fort Lauderdale, a GoFundMe account is raising money for hourly employees who are not currently working. Recipients will include staff at:
· The Restaurant People – Yolo, O Lounge, Java & Jam, Township, Rooftop @1WLO, TRP Taste, S3 and Boatyard
· Be Nice Hospitality – Coconuts, Foxy Brown, Lunch Room and Top Hat Deli
· Beer Famous Group – Tarpon River Brewing
· Old School Hospitality – Quarterdeck restaurants, Good Spirits and Whiskey Neat
· Knallhart Management Group – The Wilder, Rhythm + Vine and Boulevard Kitchen + Juice Bar
· It’s Better on the Beach Hospitality – Spazio Italian Restaurant and Wine Lounge, Café Ibiza, Rock Bar, Tsukuro and Blondies Sports Bar
· Shooters Waterfront
· The Wharf Fort Lauderdale & Rivertail
· MyaPapaya
· 15th Street Fisheries
· Tap 42 Fort Lauderdale & Bar Rita
· Handcrafted Hospitality – Pizza Craft, Henry’s Sandwich Station and Taco Craft
Local restaurants aren’t just feeding the public via takeout and delivery. They’re also making food available for unemployed hospitality workers. Grails in Wynwood is partnering with sponsors Ketel One, Plantation, Java Rum and East Imperial to offer free meals from their cantina menu. Meals, available on a first-come, first served basis, can be ordered here.
In Fort Lauderdale, Pizza Craft Pizzeria and partners are donating free pizzas to unemployed hospitality staff from 4pm Tues. through Sun. to first 50 guests. Workers must show uniform or pay stub. Details here.
ChefsFeed, an online platform supporting restaurants, bars, chefs, culinary and beverage professions, is urging everyone to contact their representatives and senators to demand that the restaurant industry is part of the federal stimulus plan. “If we can bail out banks and the automotive industry, then we MUST bail out the restaurant industry. 15 million jobs hang in the balance,” reads their call to action, accompanied by the phone number to the Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121. https://www.chefsfeed.com/stories/1241-what-you-can-do-to-support-the-re...
They’ve also included a link to a Change.org petition signed by chefs nationally asking governors, mayors and legislators to come up with a swift plan for giving local restaurants the best chance for survival, including:
• Providing emergency employment benefits to hourly and salaried workers who have been laid off
• Waiving payroll tax
• Endorsing rent and loan abatement for workers
As businesses shut down across the country to prevent coronavirus infections, jobless claims soar. Politicians hammer out economic rescue proposals. Tax cuts? Thousand-dollar checks? Today, the ideas are all on the drawing board.
Nationally, the culinary and hospitality industry in responding. The James Beard Foundation announced its Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund to provide micro-grants to independent food and beverage businesses in need. They point out that the food and beverage community employs nearly 16% of the American workforce, supporting local economies and representing an essential part of community revival.
The fund will gather support from corporate, foundation and individual donors. More here.
Common Threads, the national nonprofit that teaches children and families about healthy cooking, created a COVID-19 Resource page with healthy recipes, at-home nutrition games, how-to cooking videos and activities and hand-washing activities. Aimed at helping out teachers and families stay on top of online learning, Common Bytes lesson plans and digital resources are free to everyone.
In South Florida, hundreds of restaurants and breweries that were ordered to close to dining ramped up delivery and curbside take-out services. Many offered discounts and special deals for customers.
Because of the chunk commercial delivery services take out of restaurant orders – sometimes as much as 30 percent – some restaurants are handling delivery services on their own. In Coconut Grove, the FreeBee electric transportation service was converted to a delivery service for meals from participating restaurants.
In Miami, as many as 400 workers laid off from Versailles, La Carreta and other restaurants in the Valls empire will head to the Sedano’s grocery store chain, suddenly in need of more employees.
Supermarkets added special hours to allow seniors and at-risk customers time to shop for groceries. Milam's Markets is opening one hour early (8am) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
All parks were ordered closed, which presented a problem for South Florida’s first food truck, AC’s Icees, a fixture at David Kennedy Park. Not for long – AC moved a few blocks south on Pan American Drive near City Hall, where folks can order his fresh lemon and cherry frozen ices.
The theme of the day: Taking care of restaurant workers.
In the news, economic relief and an economic stimulus package made headlines: “Danny Meyer’s Restaurant Group Lays Off 2,000 Workers” detailed Union Square Hospitality Group’s letting go of about 80 percent of their total workforce.
Closer to home, Michael Schwartz announced layoffs at his closed Genuine Hospitality restaurants, which they chose to close. Others scrambled to make their decision – close, and lay off staff, or try to make a go at it by selling curbside and delivery products? (We’ve assembled a list of those restaurants at right).
One group of independent restaurateurs made a heartfelt and slick video they shared on social media. “We are the faces behind some of your favorite homegrown family-owned restaurants in Miami. We employ single mothers, heads of families, young and old who depend on their income to survive … You can support us by ordering takeout or delivery through our apps, websites or third parties.” Participants were Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken, Giardino Salads, Hate Mondays Tavern, Latin House Grill, Arbetter’s, Cuban Guys, Pincho, 3 Chefs, Pinecrest Bakery, Sushi Maki, Sergio’s, Sports Grill.
One of the most encouraging messages came from Federal Donuts in Philadelphia, who very briefly came to Wynwood, part of the CookNSolo hospitality group co-owned by Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook. They held an online sale to raise money for their workers. And it was working. “In the last 48 hours, we’ve raised about $25,000 in gift card sales to directly benefit our hourly team members at all restaurants. Absolutely incredible.”
If they can reach $40,000 in gift card sales by sundown Mar. 20, CookNSolo says it will match that donation.
Voters in today’s primary election got a squirt of hand sanitizer along with their “I Voted” sticker. Bars across the state got the bad news that they’d have to close at 5pm. On St. Patrick’s Day. Which happens to fall in the middle of spring break and prime time for tourists.
Restaurants in Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale and Key West were all told to close. They can only do takeout/delivery/drive-though service if they want. Some have chosen to close altogether, while others have created special to-go menus, in an effort to entice diners and to keep their workers employed. In some cases, waitstaff are being deputized as delivery drivers.
The shutdown’s economic impact to the hospitality industry in South Florida is, simply, staggering. As small restaurants pull out all the stops, creating special go-to menus and entreating diners via social media posts to help keep them afloat, leading chefs across the nation aimed their voices at government.
Michelle Bernstein, a James Beard Award winner, restaurateur, author and partner in Little Havana’s Cafe La Trova, took to social media in a video post directed at governor Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez.
“As instructed, we have closed our restaurants and bars to help combat COVID-19. We have advised our employees and our staff to be socially responsible and to respect the needs of the community and their families. Many of us as owners have promised to take care of our staff, including health insurance and our hourly employees for as long as we can, and we’re committed to them,” she says. “We need help from the city and state to survive. … An immediate response by you that would provide much-needed assistance is to allow us to keep our sales tax and county tax, which is due in three days on Mar. 20th. It would help us all stay afloat.”
John Kunkel of 50 Eggs Hospitality Group, which includes Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, CHICA and Spring Chicken in Miami, and other restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, says he’s had to lay off hundreds of workers in the last several days. Locally, only Yardbird South Beach is open for takeout.
“We don’t know what the future holds for us, the industry,” he said in an Instagram video. “The one thing I do know is we have thousands and thousands of people in every state who need the assistance of the federal government. Our team members survive paycheck to paycheck. … the landlords are still looking for rent. We need the assistance of every elected official and we need them to move much quicker than they are.”
Small Business Administration Loans
SBA will work with governors to provide low-interest loans to small businesses and nonprofits severely impacted by COVID-10
sba.gov/disaster
Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan
The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program offers up to $50,000 for small business owners located in all Florida counties statewide that experienced economic damage as a result of COVID-19.
floridadisasterloan.org
Restaurants are putting a new spin on takeout, including special menus, discounts and wine.
Parlour Vegan Bakery in Plantation and Boca Raton rolled out plant-based Shepherd’s Pie Pastelitos and Irish Cream Cupcakes
parlourcurb.com
El Mago de Las Fritas in Westcheste offers curbside pickup and ventanita service for their Cuban comfort food.
elmagodelasfritas.com
Hometown BBQ Miami, Allapattah, does takeout for its pulled pork sandwiches, Juan’s burnt end Frito pie, tacos and other menu items.
hometownbbqmiami.com
At Zak the Baker, you can order rustic breads, smoked white fish salad, hummus, croissants, babkas and other pastries if you order by noon for free same-day delivery. There is a $25 minimum order and trucks deliver to South Beach, Miami Beach, Surfside and Aventura.
zakthebaker.com
Alma in the Grove is taking orders for delivery and offers a 30% discount on all bottles of wine.
almagrove.com
Chug’s Cantina take-out platter can be ordered for one or family-style for 3-4 guests, including white rice, black beans and salad with choice of pollo a la plancha, chicken fricassee, or mojo roasted pork and sweet potato. 786-534-8722
The following reflects a snapshot of how the COVID-19 is affecting restaurants and food artisans in South Florida today.
“Social distancing” – the CDC’s term for keeping people apart physically and minimizing contact – began when big events were first canceled or postponed. Large restaurants, like Joe’s Stone Crab, were told to limit their occupancy to under 250 people.
On Sunday night, Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez called for all restaurants and bars to close by 11pm and to reduce their capacity by 50 percent. Also on Sunday, the CDC called for canceling or postponing in-person events of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks. These include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies.
Initially, restaurants turned to social media to reassure their customers that it’s safe to come in and eat, emphasizing enhanced sanitizing protocols, more frequent cleanings and requiring staff to wear gloves that are changed frequently.
As well as including the sanitation boilerplate, some small restaurants used the opportunity to recognize the impact of the public health initiatives on staff. “Ghee is the second home to many of us,” reads a social media post from Niven and Shivani Patel’s popular Indian restaurants “From the backbone of this restaurant (all of our front and back of house team), to all of our regulars who visit us almost every day, we strive to achieve strict guidelines to make this atmosphere feel safe for everyone.” Two days later, Niven laid out a poignant post announcing some staff layoffs. "I really don't want to be that guy that wants sympathy because I know everyone is going through this," he wrote. "I judt don't know any other way to express how sad I am right now."
National actions and safety measures are being rolled out in cities large and small across the country and world. The James Beard Foundation listed suggestions how consumers can support restaurants, including:
• Buying gift cards to use at a future date, giving restaurants immediate income
• Ordering supplies and foods from small businesses and restaurant markets for your refrigerator or pantry
• Delivery as a way of patronizing your favorite restaurant without leaving your house
JBF is also offering a webinar for chefs and restaurateurs on Mar. 17 to share what’s being done nationally and discuss possible options for relief from state and federal sources.
Other restaurateurs are offering their solutions. In Louisville, Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia announced on social media a program to help restaurant workers who are suddenly out of work. "They have always answered the call to work our kitchens and run our dining rooms. I am doing anything I can to make sure that they are not forgotten. If we don’t take a stand and do something now, there will not be an independent restaurant industry to speak of when the coronavirus crisis is over," he says. He is partnering with Maker's Mark to turn 610 Magnolia into a relief center for laid-off restaurant workers, offering to-go dinners, supplies like diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and Tylenol for those in need.
Calls increase for social isolation and keeping safe distances. But that may not be enough. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have agreed to ban dining in restaurants, and South Florida may be next. This leaves restaurateurs the option of closing or turning to delivery services, like Uber Eats, GrubHub, Caviar or Postmates. These companies charge restaurants as much as 30% in commission fees, but GrubHub has agreed to suspend those fees for independent restaurants and others may follow.
Another option is using their own delivery services or getting creative. In his address Sunday night calling for restaurants and bars to close by 11pm, Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez asked restaurants to consider using waitstaff, idled by low customer traffic, for deliveries instead. Another idea involves creative repurposing. The Coconut Grove BID is working with FreeBee, the free electric cars that operate in the various South Florida municipalities, to convert their electric cars into delivery vehicles.
Prime Beef Short Rib Wellington from The Surf Club Restaurant by chef Thomas Keller ($138 for two)? Just order it to go. Local restaurants are pushing the takeout/delivery or drive-up service model in social media posts and emails to customers.
Alter and Ember, two upscale restaurants from Brad Kilgore, are planning two takeout-only offshoots – AlterQ and Ember Eats. The motivation is taking care of the people who work there and balancing livelihood and life. “This whole thing is to get work for my staff,” he says.
The dishes are decidedly more homespun than his signature soft egg with sea scallop espuma and truffle pearls. “We wanted to offer things that travel well,” says Kilgore of Kilgore Culinary Group. “People are looking for traditional foods and classics, comfort food,” he says, recalling Brasserie Alter, a successful venture he set up in the weeks after Hurricane Irma. For this go-around, he set up special delivery menus at Alter and Ember with items from $6-20. At AlterQ, diners can get layered nachos – BBQ ragout, smoked black bean, braised chiles on white corn tortilla crisps – plus beer, wine and liquor at retail. At his Ember Eats Delicatessen and Butcher Shop, diners can order from a special menu for prepared foods and a butcher shop for home cooks weary of long lines and empty shelves at their grocery stores.
“There will be a lot of cooking at home,” he says. “I still have access to meat – rib eye, filet, and chicken, that we can send with Ember Steak Spice and sea salt.”
Kilgore, who spoke with us right after a meeting, aims to launch these new businesses on Thursday, but realizes things can change before then.
Some popular restaurants have developed special takeout menus. Check with your favorite restaurant first to see if they’re doing takeout and delivery.
Le Zoo, Miami Beach – takeout only via Uber Eats
Makoto, Bal Harbour – takeout available
AlterQ, Wynwood – Special BBQ menu and beer, wine and liquor, $6-20 beginning Thur., Mar. 19 for pickup and delivery through the restaurant, Caviar, Postmates
Ember Eats, Design District – Special menu ($6-20), through restaurant, Caviar, Postmates
Three Wynwood, Uber Eats Delivery Menu available starting Tues., Mar. 17
Boia De, Little Haiti – When they reopen Thursday, they'll have a to-go only menu including tagliolini al Nero and a La Pollita fried chicken sandwich
Ariete, Coconut Grove – Ariete is open for business, while Ariete Hospitality Group will be offering a 15-20% discount on restaurant gift cards
Other restaurants have chosen to close and weather the storm. Danny Serfer of Blue Collar and Mignonette, announced that his popular restaurants will be closed until further notice. “The current situation is unprecedented and this was a very difficult decision to make,” he told followers in a social media post. “We will continue to take care of our employees’ insurance costs through the end of April, if not longer.”
Planta South Beach is also temporarily suspending all restaurant operations here and in Canada, saying, “Let’s choose to be safe, not sorry.”
Michael Schwartz' Genuine Hospitality Group announced Monday that they're closing all of their restaurants temporarily – Michael's Genuine Food and Drink, Amara at Paraiso, Tigertail + Mary, Ella, Harry's Pizzeria, Genuine Pizzeria and Schwartz's Genuine Miami Deli. "We have been torn in two, wanting to stay open for the community and our employees who are our family, but the time has come to make the call, which is the right decision," says their announcement.
Lalo Durazo, managing partner of Jaguar Hospitality Group, which includes Talavera in Coral Gables and Jaguar in Coconut Grove, says his restaurants are still open now, but believes it’s inevitable that officials will require all restaurants to close, as they’ve done in New York City. He doesn’t see the demand for the takeout/delivery-only model to be enough to sustain operations, while closing would give South Florida the best chance to get the situation under control and keep employees and the public safe. “It’s the best course of action. We need to bite the bullet now so that we can get back to normal.”
South Florida restaurateurs may not have the choice if officials follow suit and order a shutdown of all restaurants and bars.
Food artisans – the bakers, the kombucha brewers, the jam-and-jelly makers, the honey vendors – are among the hardest hit because most of the farmers markets have closed. Without a place to sell, they’ve turned to social media to promote their availability. Some ship, others deliver locally and still others have sold their foods via pop-ups.
On Sunday, farmers Adena and Walt Chefitz of LNB Groves sold their popular Rainbow Smoothies and Turmeric Tonic at a special drive-through location they shared with their customers. At Babe’s Meat and Counter in Palmetto Bay, they offered to host space for vendors who were abruptly notified the day before that the Pinecrest Gardens farmers market would be canceled.
Baguette Plus, an artisan baker who found themselves without any markets this past weekend, announced to their followers that they could order their rustic loaves, cinnamon brioche, Nutella cruffins and other treats. They then offered free deliveries with a minimum purchase in Miami-Dade and Broward this week. Zaytouna Foods, baked goods made by Syrian refugee women, is also available for delivery.
Whatever officials decide, those in the food and hospitality industry know that this is going to be a challenging time to be in business. And it's not going to be over soon.
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