Heritage reopened its dining room a few months ago after being closed for over a year. (Photo courtesy Heritage)
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself scrambling to find a reservation for a Saturday-night dinner with my boyfriend and two friends.
Hopping on Open Table and Resy, I was continually hit with messages saying nothing was available for my selected time frame or offering seatings on each end of the extreme — at 4:45 or 5 p.m. on the early side or later in the evening starting at 9:30 p.m.
Heritage, booked. Brenner Pass and Metzger Bar & Butchery, booked. Saison, booked. Lillie Pearl, booked. Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen, booked. L’Opossum? Try again next month.
Despite reservations being common pre-pandemic, and the fact that landing a table at these Richmond hot spots on a whim has always been challenging, to me, this difficulty to book a table was also a reflection of the struggles restaurants continue to face. Since reopening their dining rooms after the onset of the pandemic, many restaurants have yet to regain a sense of normalcy or consistency due to limited hours and staff, which has led to reduced capacity and price spikes for food and labor, all served with a general sense of uncertainty.
Has the way we experience restaurants changed forever? For every familiar moment of “the old times,” unfamiliar moments of “the new times” have followed.
When Heritage reopened in the middle of July after being closed for over a year, almost the entirety of the pandemic’s height, they took things slowly.
“We were trying to figure out, ‘What should we do? What should we do with the space what will be feasible for us?’ ” says co-owner and front-of-house manager Emilia Sparatta.
Having retained just a few former employees, the Heritage team practically had to start fresh; the restaurant is currently open on Friday and Saturday nights only, offering a prix fixe menu along with a la carte items available at the bar. Service is by reservation only, except for bar seating, and by the beginning of September, Sparatta says, bookings were already filling up for the holiday season.
Heritage is also allowing only vaccinated guests at the small, 30-seat Fan restaurant, with a sign posted on the front door and notices on their reservation platforms and website. Employees must be vaccinated and are required to wear masks.
Sparatta says they rely on an honor system and do not require guests to show proof of vaccination. “We’re all adults here; you want to lie to me about your vaccination status?” she says. “My job is to state our policy and go from there.”
That feeling is echoed by Brenner Pass bar manager James Kohler. Since reopening the Scott’s Addition restaurant’s dining room, which is not yet at full capacity, they have been testing staff weekly. He says employees have adopted a lifestyle of personal responsibility.
“I know myself, personally, am very frustrated in my new role as enforcer of health … and I’m not sure if we’re willing to take on the additional responsibility,” he says of mandating that guests be vaccinated, which Brenner Pass currently does not do. “I think it’s a really tricky place to be to have to enforce it.”
Establishments such as Babe’s of Carytown and Godfrey’s require either proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test 72 hours before entry, while Longoven requires proof of vaccination for indoor and outdoor dining.
At Kendra Feather’s restaurants Laura Lee’s and The Roosevelt, the latter of which she co-owns with Mark Herndon of Buckhead’s, they accept walk-ins, and she says they’re not trying to enforce rules such as time constraints on tables or fees for no-show reservations.
“We’re trying to make it as normal as possible,” says the seasoned restaurateur, even as staffers do their jobs in masks. “It has been the most challenging time period for me as a leader, in the sense that I feel the pressure to have answers, and I don't always see the path forward.”
Despite her best efforts, Feather has had to shorten hours — Laura Lee’s now closes at 9 p.m. and is open six days a week instead of seven, while brunches at both her restaurants have been eliminated.
“We used to do 150 people a night, and now we do 100, and we’re like, ‘Whoa, how did we do that before?’ ” she says.
“Nothing is as expected,” she adds. “Food is taking a long time because we’re under capacity [with staff], menus are smaller because of access to available food or prices going up, and everyone has the frustration of wanting what they want when they want it — we were accustomed to a very convenient world.”
Diners must also adjust to this changed landscape. Part of our new responsibility as patrons of these places that have and will continue to bring joy into our lives is to move forward with empathy, taking every dining experience day by day.
“There’s so much unknown still, it feels like trying to predict the future,” says Sparatta of Heritage. “If this is working right now for the moment, then it’s working for the moment.”
