Kevin Grant
By Ed Avis
During the week of May 18, el Restaurante surveyed our readers to find out how they’ve fared during the Covid-19 crisis and what they think lies ahead. Twenty-four percent of those surveyed said they had partially reopened their dining rooms in the past three weeks.
“On May 4 we were allowed to start serving customers on our patio,” says Kevin Grant, owner of Zia Taqueria in Charleston, South Carolina. “And then we were able to open our dining room last Monday [May 11] at 50 percent capacity.”
Business has been solid, Grant says. The restaurant grew its take-out business during the crisis, and now the combined on-premise and off-premise business averages between 65 percent and 73 percent of the restaurant’s typical pre-pandemic sales.
At Lozano’s Mexican Restaurant in Immokalee, Florida, customers were welcomed back into the dining room in early May. The restaurant could only seat at 25 percent capacity, but they were allowed to expand the seating by adding a tent outside, says co-owner Daniel Gonzalez. As of May 18, they have been able to increase to 50 percent capacity.
“We are averaging about three quarters full,” Gonzalez says, adding that sales from take-out and on-premise total about 75 percent of normal sales. “I’m not going to complain. There are a lot of ‘For Sale’ signs on restaurants around here.”
Both Grant and Gonzalez received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. According to the survey, 63 percent of Mexican restaurants surveyed have received either PPP loans or SBA emergency loans.
“The PPP loan is a fantastic thing,” Grant says. “I never thought in a million years I would get a check to allow me to hire my employees back. It’s a blessing.”
The survey showed that about 33 percent of Mexican restaurants have laid off more than half of their employees, and another 30 percent have laid off some employees, but fewer than half of them.
However, 13 percent have added employees, including Grant.
“I knew I needed to staff up for the summer months in general,” Grant says. “On top of that, I’ve been adding on-call shifts to the front of the house and back of the house, because I want employees to understand we have someone else available if they don’t feel well.”
As expected, the survey showed that most restaurants have suffered greatly during the crisis. Thirty-two percent of respondents said their sales have dropped between 25 and 50 percent, and 27 percent say their sales have dropped from 51 percent to 75 percent.
Many owners evidently decided the fight wasn’t worth it: 17 percent of Mexican restaurants surveyed have closed since the COVID crisis began. However, nearly all of them say they expect to reopen once the crisis passes.