SLO County businesses may face more restrictions as COVID cases surge. Are they prepared?
San Luis Obispo County businesses may face another round of indoor closures and more restrictive measures as coronavirus cases rise locally to record-breaking levels.
Over the past 14 days, an average of 51 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in San Luis Obispo County per day. On Nov. 7, the county reported its highest number of new cases confirmed in one day locally with 128, according to ReadySLO.org.
The increase, according to San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein, should indicate to local business owners that they should begin preparing for more restrictions.
“It is reasonably likely that we will be seeing ourselves back in the purple tier in a couple of weeks,” Borenstein said at a Thursday news briefing.
If the county slides back to the purple, or “widespread,” tier in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, restaurants, gyms, museums, places of worship and movie theaters must shut down indoor operations once more. Other types of businesses will be allowed to continue operations, but with decreased capacity for indoor services.
By next Friday or the following Friday, businesses may have to adapt to purple tier restrictions if current trends continue, Borenstein said.
“We want to have businesses thinking about this and preparing, as they have been throughout this pandemic,” she added.
In order to remain within the red tier, the county’s adjusted case rate needs to stay below seven new cases per day per 100,000 people (fewer than about 20 new cases per day for San Luis Obispo County), maintain a positivity rate below 8% and a health equity metric below 8%.
The latest state data, released Nov. 10, accounted for cases confirmed between Oct. 18 to Oct. 31. During that time, the county’s adjusted case rate was 7.1%.
If the county’s adjusted case rate remains above 7% when the next data set — which accounts for cases between Oc.t 25 and Nov. 7 — is released Tuesday, the county will be placed in the purple tier, according to state guidelines.
Since Nov. 1, the county’s case rate has consistently been above 7% and rising.
“I know (businesses) are probably exhausted by opening and closing and opening and closing,” Borenstein said.
While some restaurants and businesses are already preparing for the purple tier once more, others said it may cost them their business.
Local restaurants plan ahead to move outdoors amid cold weather
Some prominent restaurant operators in San Luis Obispo County said they’re already preparing to shift entirely to outdoor seating in anticipation of the county’s move into the more restrictive purple tier.
The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo is preparing to move its restaurant operation, now fully indoors, to outdoor seating with a tent and heat lamps, said Clint Pearce, president of Madonna Enterprises.
“We’ll have a full, big tent with open sides, according to the requirements,” Pearce said. “That will help keep people covered.”
Pearce said current outdoor seating arrangements helped the inn maintain levels of business that were on par with pre-pandemic restaurant sales. He added that being able to move indoors with limited capacity and spread-out seating reduced the amount of bustle and added steps for restaurant waiters to get food to customers.
In San Luis Obispo, Novo Restaurant & Lounge and Luna Red restaurant, which are owned by the same family, are preparing to move to full outdoor dining as well.
“We’re fortunate in that 80% of our seating at Novo is already outdoors (under pre-pandemic circumstances) and 50% at Luna Red is outside,” said Samantha Welch, a director of front-of-house operations for the businesses. “We’ll have heat lamps ready and we’ve purchased tents for Luna Red and Novo. We’ll be open for Thanksgiving, and we’ve mapped out our tables.”
Welch said that the move to outside, however, reduces seating at each location, saying that a parklet at Novo has helped provide room for customers. Novo currently has 27 tables inside and Luna Red has about 37 under the 25% capacity limit.
“If we have to move outside, that reduces our tables at Novo by 12 and at Luna Red by 15, but the eight tables at the parklet outside Novo help make up some of that business,” Welch said. “
North County restaurants are also preparing to be forced outside to deal with rain and chilly weather after coping with sky-high temperatures and wildfire smoke this summer.
Fish Gaucho in downtown Paso Robles is getting ready to shift back to entirely outdoor dining after being open inside at 25% capacity for about a month, owner Troy Larkin said.
The restaurant will add heaters outside and has built up its take-out options during the pandemic. Even so, Larkin is concerned poor weather might deter customers from wanting to eat outdoors.
“People come here for the experience,” Larkin said. “It’s hard to replicate in a (takeout) box at the house.”
He said the shift will be “extremely difficult” for businesses, especially since his restaurant was starting to build momentum and hire additional staff. Larkin said he doesn’t want to lay off staff during the holiday season, but he may be forced to with the shift.
Still, shutting down Fish Gaucho entirely is not an option with bills to pay, he said.
“(It’s a) little frustrating, but I guess we’re all in this together,” Larkin said of the restaurant community.
Ian McPhee just reopened McPhee’s Grill in downtown Templeton after shutting down from March to November. He’s now preparing to close once again — a discouraging experience after 27 years in business.
“It’s just going to be a matter of toughing it out,” McPhee said.
He’s hoping the state can be persuaded to keep the county out of the purple tier, but he’s not very optimistic that will happen.
McPhee is bracing to lay off some employees if the downgrade occurs. He thinks the state and the federal government should offer some assistance to the restaurant and hospitality industries to offset the closures.
“They can’t shut the industry down and not come up with some help somewhere,” McPhee said.
In the South County, Gina’s Italian Cuisine in the Village of Arroyo Grande has began discussing ways to stay open during the winter months with a potential closure of indoor dining looming.
General manager Miguel Padilla said more people have been opting to dine indoors since the onset of Daylight Savings Time. The Italian restaurant reopened indoor dining at 25% capacity when the county moved into the red tier.
“Since it’s been getting cold a little bit, and because of the time change, more people are preferring to sit indoors,” Padilla said.
He said that the restaurant has plenty of outdoor dining and expanded its outdoor dining into a shared space with Rooster Creek Tavern on Short Street.
While the restaurant’s outdoor dining area currently have heaters, Padilla said Gina’s is considering adding more heaters and delivery options to keep customers happy and workers employed.
Asked about the impact of potentially closing indoor dining, Padilla said, “It’s a major hit. It’s devastating. But we need to do everything in our power to keep our community safe.”
While the winter may be rough, he said, the restaurant has no intention of closing and will adapt where it can.
“We’re pleased to have an amazing community had that supported us throughout the pandemic and we’re going to keep feeding them,” Padilla said. “We’ll do what we can to stay afloat and adapt.”
While many restaurants are preparing for another shift to outdoors, others are not so sure they can remain open through the winter if indoor services close.
Aaron Linn, general manager of Linn’s Restaurant in Cambria, said the “company can’t afford another move outdoors.”
“We would have to redo or expand outdoors setup again, lose thousands in sales, or stay open indoors and face some fines,” Linn wrote in a text to The Tribune.
Miguel de Alba, owner of Manta Rey Restaurant in San Simeon, said his eatery may have to temporarily close down if the county moves to the purple tier once more.
“It’s been very slow, and even though we’re usually always slow during these months, closing temporarily if we go back to purple would probably make more financial sense than just doing to-go,” Alba wrote in a text to The Tribune. “Right now it’s costing me more to keep the doors open than if we were closed.”
Fitness centers struggle with outdoor equipment limitations
Kennedy Club Fitness managing partner Brett Weaver said that a move to the purple tier would be a blow to a fitness center chain that had just started to build up membership after losing some members in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone who has been categorized non-essential is really going to struggle,” Weaver said. “Moving operations outdoors with the time and temperature change will be challenging.”
Weaver said Kennedy Club Fitness, which operates gyms in Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, will likely have to deal with equipment damage from weather with outdoor use and limited capacity for workouts among guests.
“Our equipment (that is) placed outdoors will take a beating again,” Weaver said. “We will have to spend money to repair equipment exposed to the elements . We really need the everyone’s support so we can continue to bring health and wellness to SLO County.”
Weaver said Kennedy laid off 300 employees in March and brought back around 150 workers in June.
“We are currently evaluating staffing, programs, departments, etc., in the anticipation of moving back outdoors,” he said.
Headstrong Fit owner Robby McLaughlin, who has locations in Atascadero and San Luis Obispo, said that the gyms use parking lot space and conduct temperature checks of members.
The fitness centers are using at using canopies for shade with side openings to serve members using equipment and obstacle courses.
“We get going pretty early in the morning and it can be pretty chilly out there,” McLaughlin said. “It can be a little scary as a business owner to face this transition, but you have to get creative. And a workout can be the best hour in the day to feel good about yourself and have some interaction with others.”
McLaughlin said Headstrong Fit has created hours of workout demonstration videos through its app that people can access for home exercise. And the business has been able to keep 10 San Luis Obispo employees on staff, with four in Atascadero.
“You have to be willing to try new things and adjust during this period,” McLaughlin said. “But it is scary.”
Ryan Joiner, owner of Athlon Fitness & Performance in San Luis Obispo, shared a letter he penned to California State Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, urging him to help gyms to remain open indoors.
“The governor’s draconian policies have devastated my business, despite the fact we are providing a service that clearly helps people have good outcomes from this disease (one of many studies demonstrating exercise makes a huge difference,” Joiner wrote. “I run very professional, clean facilities, following all of the safety precautions (including wearing masks while exercising).”
Joiner said his demographer is mostly middle-aged and retired professionals, and a number of youth athletes.
“In March, I employed nine full-time employees (making livable wages in SLO County and full benefits), and three part-time,” Joiner wrote. “We now have only four full time employees, have gone heavily into debt ... and are just barely hanging on.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 3:40 PM.
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