For the first time since November, restaurants, pubs and breweries in the Portland metro area are allowed to reopen their indoor dining rooms at a limited capacity at the end of the week, Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday.
The move comes as declining cases of COVID-19 have led Brown to move ten counties in Oregon – including Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington – from the “extreme” to the “high” risk category, leading to the partial reopening of some businesses, including restaurants, gyms and movies. theaters.
For restaurants, the change means that, as of Friday, the dining rooms that have been closed since November can now be filled to 25% or 50 people, whichever is less, with parties limited to six people from no more than two households. Restaurants still to close at 23:00
Oregon’s four risk categories are ‘extreme’, ‘high’, ‘moderate’ and ‘low’. During the most recent two-week period followed by the state, the counties of Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington each had less than 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and the positivity rates of less than 10% were tested, qualifying them from the most restrictive category to fall.
In a statement, President Jason Restaurant & Oregon Association of Oregon called the announcement a “step in the right direction.”
The lobby group describes ‘opening and closing restaurant operations’ as the biggest challenge facing the industry, with restaurants being forced to lay off workers or re-employ and predict how much food they will need to buy, depending on whether the indoor dining room is open or not. Brandt recommended eliminating the “extreme” risk category altogether to make restaurants more flexible going forward.
The Independent Restaurant Association of Oregon sounded a more cautious note, calling the move a “double-edged sword” for restaurants that could temporarily shut down to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks at work, all without a safety net.
“We have repeatedly heard that scientists and doctors are concerned about the spread of the virus in confined spaces where people eat and drink – an activity that cannot be masked,” said Katy Connors, chairwoman of the group. said. ‘Restaurant workers should not be forced to choose between their financial and their physical health. They must now have access to the vaccine. ”
Dean Griffith, president of the Old Spaghetti Factory, said the Portland chain plans to reopen its metro area locations on Friday, although the ‘high’ risk constraints remain expensive.
“Our restaurant in Portland sleeps 450 people, and it’s pretty empty to have 50 people in a restaurant,” Griffith said. ‘We will not even be able to fill all the tables on the riverfront. I’m not sure how a few extra people with a social distance can create more problems. ”
Griffith is frustrated by the state’s lack of transparency over the decision to close restaurants.
“They say statistical analyzes say restaurants could be part of the problem,” Griffith said. ‘But we were open for three months in the summer and we do not see any increase in business. Then they shut us down and it took months before the case load went off, and the incubation period is so much shorter than that. ”
Gabriel Rucker, the award-winning chef at Le Pigeon and Canard restaurants in Portland, said he did not want to rush into reopening, although he could be reconsidered “in a month or so” if the case continues to decline.
“We do not even know about the new variants,” Rucker said. ‘Why are we doing this now just because we have reached a random number? Doesn’t it make sense to just really get it under control kind of get it under control?
Le Pigeon was already planning to open a different kind of concept for its own meals on Friday – to deliver three-course meals in private rooms at Jupiter Next, a nearby hotel. The new concept has enabled Rucker and business partner Andy Fortgang to double the staff at Le Pigeon, which has been focused on pickup since November.
“I feel blessed that people have come back,” Rucker said. ‘But I just did the litmus test to call and there are people who do not feel comfortable with it. And many of our employees have moved from the restaurant industry. That’s a year ago! So I will wait for me to make sure that it is really going to stick and see that we are going to do it right because it costs a lot of money to do it right. ”