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Currently, Longoven in Scott's Addition is offering takeout and allowing dine-in guests on its outdoor patio only.
At the end of June, Alewife welcomed guests into its Church Hill dining room for the first time since mid-March, when restaurants shut their doors due to the pandemic. This week, they closed the dining room again.
“It felt like dipping your toe into the pool in April and saying, ‘No, not yet,’” says Front of House Manager Katy Best of the short-lived experience.
In what could be viewed as a step back on this ever-changing journey, Alewife is switching back to takeout service only until at least Sept. 1. “It feels like doubling down on the right choice,” Best says.
This move mirrors those made by restaurants across the country, as cities have experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases after dining rooms reopened and guests flocked back to them.
In phase three of Gov. Ralph Northam's reopening plan for Virginia, which kicked off July 1, dining rooms were able to reopen at full capacity, while bar areas remain closed. Many businesses that are currently open require reservations for indoor seating, others are only utilizing outdoor spaces, and some are sticking strictly to takeout.
In recent weeks, multiple Richmond restaurants have shut their doors again after staff members either contracted COVID-19 or were in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. Many have handled the situation with well-received transparency, posting to social media to update guests.
8 1/2 on Strawberry Street shut its doors after a worker came in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, but it has since reopened. After making a much anticipated return after being closed since Pi Day, March 14, debuting a new walk-up window and not allowing customers inside, Proper Pie Co. has ceased operations for at least two weeks. At Perch, General Manager Beth Dixon self-quarantined as soon as she began to experience COVID symptoms, and after waiting 12 days for test results, her fears were confirmed — the Pacific island-inspired restaurant closed July 14.
On Monday, Heritage announced that it would be closing its dining room, as well as ceasing takeout until further notice, choosing to “proactively take ourselves out of the situation,” according to a post on Instagram, and today, Mama J’s in Jackson Ward shared that it would be halting operations temporarily after an employee tested positive for the virus.
These incidents shine a glaring light on a fact that owners and employees must face: A third of the year into the pandemic, no one knows when, if ever, their businesses will return to normal.
Best says that when Alewife reopened for eating in, it not only felt like the right time, but the necessary time: “We all wanted that again, and with everyone opening back up, we saw [our] takeout numbers going down — we thought, this is the only way to survive.”
In the weeks that followed, Best says they enjoyed having customers in the space again; however, there were too many instances that revealed allowing people inside is a gamble.
“In general, I think it felt almost like a violation of our space, because we’ve been keeping it such to our standards,” she says of people not wearing masks or following the restaurant's other safety guidelines. “It was like if a guest came in your home and put their feet on the coffee table.”
During one evening's service, Best says, a couple read the “No entrance without a mask” sign, laughed and proceeded to walk in without protective gear. She says she finds the number of times she has had to ask customers to put their masks on when they aren’t eating "shocking."
“It says a lot about how they view their relationship with their servers. Their comfort is more important than my life, essentially,” says the 13-year bar veteran. “We’re literally providing services for you and only asking for this one small service in return. It’s uncomfortable, I get it, but you do have another option, which is to stay home."
The 10-person squad at Alewife has weekly meetings, and after testing the waters of returning to dinner service, they decided that the risks of opening were not worth the rewards.
“I had an internal crisis of, 'I don't think we are doing the right thing [by remaining open],' ” Best says. “We need to keep our staff safe, keep our restaurant safe and keep running. Restaurant workers are points of contact for hundreds of people a week," she adds, “and if I get COVID, I’m a major spreader."
In today’s world of dining out, each visit may be viewed as a social contract. As diners are expected to follow certain rules when visiting restaurants, spaces that have been deemed essential, industry workers are required to do the same.
“I’m definitely the dad in the building,” Patrick Phelan, chef and co-owner of Longoven, says regarding enforcement of safety measures. “We have a contract with each other, we have to make this restaurant succeed and hopefully get back to some sense of normalcy, but the only way we do that is if we stay healthy and take care of each other.”
The Scott’s Addition restaurant is currently allowing dine-in guests on its patio only and offering the wood-fired concept Brasa for takeout. Inside a timer beeps every 30 minutes, reminding employees to clean. Sanitation stations fill the restaurant, and plates — still receiving the Longoven tweezer treatment — are delivered by gloved hands. To order, guests use their phones and scan the menu, and they also keep the same silverware and napkin throughout the meal.
While Phelan says they have had to remind guests to keep their masks on when leaving the table, most diners, the majority of whom are groups of two, comply. But, despite the overwhelming costs of rent and air conditioning for his small staff and an unoccupied dining room, and nights when they may serve only 20 parties, the father of two says safety is at the forefront of his decisions.
“I have no idea when somebody will dine in this building,” he says, adding that every day they discover better and safer ways to operate. "Right now for us, the foreseeable future is Brasa and the patio.” In the weeks to come, the restaurant will also launch Fitzroy & Herrera Bakery, offering baked goods from his wife, Longoven co-owner and Pastry Chef Megan Fitzroy Phelan, and her team.
At the end of May, Gov. Northam issued an order requiring people to wear masks inside public buildings, its enforcement handled with a hands-off approach by the Virginia Department of Health and leaving business owners, including Phelan, to make the tough calls themselves.
“I think these phases [and mandates] are quite honestly irrelevant. … It doesn’t take long to drive around this city and see people that aren’t paying attention to any of the things outlined. Many of the decisions are left up to the business owners, to what they find is important to them in terms of customers and staff,” he says.
Already running on low profit margins, restaurants in Richmond continue to stretch every dollar they have, and one thing many can’t afford is to close their doors for two weeks or longer if a staff member were to contract COVID-19. At Alewife Best says they are being forced to be creative, with pop-ups returning in the coming weeks, the debut of a wine club, reusable Alewife-branded takeout bags and a baked goods concept from staffer Amanda Sanders dubbed Little Cat Bakery.
Kelli Lemon, proprietor of Broad Street’s Urban Hang Suite only recently began to allow customers inside to peruse the grab-and-go beer and wine case and order takeout fare. Lemon says she’s not ready for guests to dine in.
“I wanted to start when phase three [happened], but … I need to create more space,” she says, envisioning distanced two-top tables throughout the back area of the cafe.
On Main Street, red velvet and gold-accented ropes block off a section of sidewalk outside Bamboo Cafe to create extending dining space. When a customer exits the cafe to smoke a cigarette outside, the bartender walks to the door and wipes the handle behind him.
“She’s the dragon lady when it comes to cleaning," Adrienne LaPrada, owner of the Fan bar and eatery, says of her longtime staffer. Every other table inside is blocked off, and though they have reopened the dining room at half capacity, as for returning to full occupancy, “I’m not ready to put this place back in full swing; it just seems too soon,” she says.
