CLEVELAND, Ohio — Marcellus Cheek is now on the front lines of a global pandemic. It took a minute for that to sink in Sunday evening, just 30 minutes after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered all restaurants and bars to close at 9 p.m. to stop the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
Cheek, a DoorDash driver pulled up to Corner 11 in Tremont to pick up an order just as he heard the news over the radio.
“We are going to be super busy. I’ve been asking myself what I could do,” he said as he loaded a noodle dish into his red warmer. “People need to eat so I guess this is going to be it.”
Several Cleveland area restaurants owners and managers said Sunday they will try to get by with takeout orders, but will lay off the bulk of their employees, and others said they will close up shop, at least temporarily.
The owners of Corner 11, which sells Hawaiian-style poke bowls, ramen and homestyle Thai dishes, were among those trying to figure out how to adjust their business. The uncertainty of how long the carry-out only order would last makes that difficult, said Sitthichok “Sam” Sitthimontol.
Corner 11 plans to charge a small fee for for deliveries of more than 5 miles. For seniors, who are 60 or older, they will deliver orders for free.
“We are trying to adjust, just like everyone else,” Twiwaporn “Tee” Sirisuman said. And if the order takes a little longer than normal, “just please be patient with us.”
Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles restaurant on Prospect Ave. downtown will keep its regular hours while it serves takeout from its menu, but owner Darnell Johns said about 25 employees in Cleveland will be out of work.
“This is something we need to do. We’ll get through with the takeouts,’’ said Johnson, who also owns two restaurants in Chicago.
Robert Carpenter, a server at Mellow Mushroom pizzeria in Rocky River, is worried about losing his tip wages and hoping for more hours behind the register.
“As somebody that works for tips it [closing] affects me because I don’t really get an hourly wage,’’ said Carpenter, 27. “I’m being told that they will try to do their best to help employees and make sure that we’re being taken care of.
“Financially, it could potentially be an issue. I’m hoping I can see everybody pull together and help each other out. I have no idea if my landlord will be expecting money. Obviously I don’t have a whole lot of money set aside, so it just kind of depends how it goes.”
Robert Carpenter, a server at Mellow Mushroom pizzeria in Rocky River, is worried about losing his tip wages and hoping for more hours behind the registerr in the wake of the restaurant's dining room closing during the coronavirus pandemic. “As somebody that works for tips it [closing] affects me because I don’t really get an hourly wage,’’ said Carpenter, 27. (Patrick O'Donnell, The Plain Dealer)Patrick O'Donnell, The Plain Dea
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Meanwhile, employees at Boaz Cafe on Lorain Avenue in Ohio City had closed up the dining room Sunday afternoon and were already doing takeout-only orders. Restaurant hosts Rachel Hanna and Jennifer Gonzalez said the Mediterranean café is fully prepared to handle takeout orders and is strictly keeping up with sanitation standards.
Both she and Gonzalez are single mothers, so all of the changes - from the restrictions on restaurants, to school closings - have a huge impact on them.
“A lot of us are single parents and don’t have any other support but our jobs, so if there could be some type of compensation for the cuts, that would be great,” Hanna said.
She noted that people who live paycheck to paycheck can’t go and stock up on a month’s worth of items at the grocery store, so it would help if stores enforced restrictions or the state assured those who receive public assistance that groceries will be available.
“We get a certain amount of money each month, as single moms struggling,” she said. “So if they can guarantee us a delivery system ... we know we would have our place, as well.”
“We are all for public safety and understand the seriousness of the situation, but [Gov. DeWine] isn’t going to lose a paycheck and the economic hit to regular people coming out of this is something we have to confront and deal with,” says Nick Kostis, owner of Pickwick and Frolic, a comedy club, bar and restaurant on East Fourth Street. “Health takes on many forms and that includes mental health issues that are the result of stress, anguish and aniety over what will happen tomorrow.”
The stress is hitting the service industry on every level – from hourly kitchen staff, servers and bartenders to salaried managers to owners. They will be forced to deal with the loss of wages in different ways. Employees and managers will be able to file for unemployment compensation. Owners will hope to ride out the storm by tapping savings and by making a Business interruption insurance claim. The insurance covers the loss of insurance due to a disaster, though there is a lack of clarity whether the Covid-19 coronavirus would qualify for an insurance that is often associated with fires and natural disasters.
“The order is so open-ended and we have no clarity,” said Kostis. “Everyone understands the need for public health. But the State of Ohio is going to end up having 500,000 people from the service industry laid off and not knowing how they’re going to get through this.”
Even before Gov. Mike DeWine’s public order to close bars and restaurants, Doug Katz, a mainstay in the Cleveland food scene for two decades, announced an eight-week closing of his flagship Fire Food and Kitchen in Shaker Square. He plans to focus on a curbside service for his Zhug, a Mediterranean restaurant that opened in Cleveland Heights in November.
“We’re laying off a staff of 30 and there are going to be a many more places laying people off,” said Katz. “You have a lot of workers – and even restaurants – living paycheck to paycheck right now.”
Greg Jurtisin, owner and manager of Beach Club Bistro in Euclid, said he has began to get carryout calls from customers. He said the restaurant will layoff one-third of its culinary staff. Jurtisin plans to hire them back part-time to make deliveries. But the lack of dining-in is going to hit hard.
“Because we won’t be selling alcohol, most restaurants will get slammed financially. If the public would like to help local restaurants, they could buy gift cards to help with expenses once we get the word to reopen,” Jurtisin said.
Sokolowski’s University Inn was ready for the announcement Sunday. Sokolowski’s has done things the same way since 1923 and co-owner Bernie Sokolowski admits it is slow to change. But in a matter of hours, staff developed a plan to beef up their take-out service, banking on people hungry for stuffed cabbage and pierogis to pick it up and take it home. Hours will likely expand past the weekday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours, along with Friday and Saturday nights.
“When the governor said they were going to allow take out, that gave us a little spark,” Sokolowski said.
“A spark of hope,” said his sister, co-owner Mary Balbier.
“It’s scary, you know. It’s all new to everybody,” Bernie Sokolowski said.
Bernie Sokolowski said normally carry-out and catering constitutes 30 percent of the restaurant’s business. The hope is to beef that up enough to keep as many employees on the payroll as possible. Already, dishwashers and bussers, who’s job hinges on the dining room, will be laid off.
“What we want to do is we want to be able to cover the salaries, and cover our food costs. We really want to keep the place going,” he said. “Everybody’s depending on us.”
And they’ve developed a new offering — family meals packaged in foil pans for re-heating at home.
Madison Family Restaurant in Lake County will close to diners, but said in a Facebook post it will offer Madison students free breakfast with breakfast meat and a juice box, available in carryout only.
TJ’s on the Avenue in Mentor said in a Facebook post: “We are committed to keeping our doors open and our staff working. That being said, we will now be offering curbside service and delivery, in addition to our regular carryout services. . . God bless everyone and we will get through this together!”
On Professor Avenue in Cleveland, Kyle Ripley was locking the door of the Bourbon Street Barrel Room. At least for the next few days, the New Orleans-themed restaurant was shutting down to re-assess whether it could make the pivot to carry out. That’s not a large part of the business now, Ripley said.
“I’d just rather everybody be safe,” he said. Behind him, the bar manager and other staff packed up food that would have spoiled to take home and feed their families and others who might need a meal.
West 25th Street in Ohio City is normally lively on weekends, but was quiet Sunday afternoon. Some businesses, even those that are normally open on Sundays, were closed. Handfuls of people were hanging out in local bars, but for the most part bars and restaurants were nearly empty and the street was uncharacteristically lifeless. A sign outside of Ohio City Burrito said it was closed for two weeks and signs on doors at Great Lakes Brewery said it has is closed and will be meeting internally to talk about next steps.
Flying Fig Eatery & Bar, a popular Ohio City dining spot, said it will close on Monday and will not be doing takeout.
Sign outside of Ohio City Burrito on West 25th St. in Cleveland on March 15, 2020. (Jordyn Grzelewski, The Plain Dealer)Jordyn Grzelewski, The Plain Dea
Ronnell Hill, manager of The Rib Cage Smokehouse & Bar on West 25th, is shifting to takeout-only and is running on a bare minimum of employees. He said he is glad laid-off employees will be able to take advantage of expanded access to unemployment benefits, but hopes the state will consider some type of financial assistance for small businesses, as well.
The Rib Cage was empty Sunday at dinner time. Hill said the business hopes to make up for it with an increase in carry out orders and delivery orders from services like DoorDash.
“We’re going to try to weather the storm,” he said.
True Cocktails Bites owner Brian Gresham said he’ll also keep a carryout menu active, six bartenders, the general manager, assistant general manager and busser will be out of work. Gresham and a chef will maintain the business on West 10th Street in the Flats.
“I’ll work and take the orders and the chef will do the cooking,” Gresham said. “In addition to our bar food, we’ll create some food specials.”
Demand for coffee was still steady at Civilization, across the street from Lincoln Park in Tremont. The shop is staying open for to-go orders only. It has a restriction on reusable cups being carried in for the safety of their employees.
“People still want coffee,” Cathy Law, the barista said, after filling a cup with Mexican chocolate flavored brew.
Slavic Village resident Mary Tujaka, a self-proclaimed coffee snob, was glad to hear that as she waited in line.
“There would be a riot without coffee,” she said.
KeVantes Restaurant and Lounge inside Richmond Mall will maintain its regular hours and patrons can order takeout from its full menu, but only four of 15 employees will remain (three cooks and someone to take orders).
“This is for the better,” said Donny Hood, who has owned his restaurant for three years. “The [state] government made this decision, so what can you do?”
Plain Dealer reporters Greg Burnett, Rachel Dissell, Jordyn Grzelewski, Michael K. McIntyre, Patrick O’Donnell John Petkovic and Branson Wright contributed to this report.
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