Yalin Bermudes, employee at El Toro Mexican Restaurant, prepares a to-go order.
By Ed Avis
There are more Mexican restaurants in Texas than any other state besides California, so when the state’s governor allowed restaurants to open at 25 percent capacity on May 1, we knew el Restaurante magazine readers would be impacted. We spoke with two about how it’s going.
What Have the First Few Weeks Been Like?
Alan Santiago, general manager of La Frontera Restaurant, Jacksonville, Texas, says that the first day was a bit challenging because the 25 percent restriction meant some guests couldn’t be seated right away and had to wait in their cars.
“Slowly it’s gotten better,” Santiago says. “We’ve communicated on our Facebook page that we have to follow the city rules. We don’t want to get into trouble.”
Santiago says some days are busier than others.
“Especially Taco Tuesday and on the weekend it gets a little busy, and that’s where the manager has to jump in and be aware of the front door and see how many tables are already full,” he says. “And the kitchen is working harder so we can turn the tables quickly.”
At El Toro Mexican Restaurant, which has six locations in Texas, overcrowding has not been a problem, says John Mayes, vice president of operations. His restaurants are large, so 25 percent capacity is a decent number of guests. Even on Mother’s Day the restaurant didn’t reach that capacity, Mayes says.
“What I’m seeing is that it’s slowly coming back,” Mayes says. “The guests are getting more comfortable and trusting of eating out, but I don’t know if it’s going to come back as fast as we open up. On May 18th we’re going to 50 percent capacity of the governor makes the call. I think we’ll be at 25 percent by then.”
What COVID Precautions Have You Taken?
Santiago says they removed some of the tables from the dining room and rearranged the remaining tables to provide more space between them. They also removed the condiments and make them available only upon request and sanitize them after each use.
“Staff have to wear masks and gloves all the time,” he says. “And we have a sanitizer station so you can sanitize your hands. And when guests come or leave, someone opens the doors for them so they don’t have to touch the handles.”
At El Toro, Mayes created a “sanitation duo,” two employees who walk around and sanitize things that frequently touched, such as door handles and counters.
Regarding condiments, Mayes says they have removed them from the tables, sanitized them, and put them in Ziploc baggies. When a guest asks for one, they are delivered in the baggie so there’s no question that they are clean and untouched.
El Toro also has switched to paper menus that double as placemats. They’re pitched after each use.
Mayes says they’ve also trimmed the menu a bit, keeping popular TexMex comfort dishes that they know they can get the ingredients for – such as fajitas, enchiladas and nachos – and a couple of fish entrees for guests who don’t eat meat.
To make sure employees aren’t bringing COVID to the restaurant, Mayes says they’re required to complete a questionnaire that asks them about symptoms, whether they’ve been in contact with an infected person, and other questions like that. Employees also have their temperature taken.
“We haven’t had to send any employees home,” Mayes says. “Not one of our employees has been sick.”
What’s the Long-Term Outlook?
Both Mayes and Santiago believe delivery and takeout will remain larger parts of their business than they were before the crisis.
“Some people are still scared and prefer to eat at home,” Santiago says.
Mayes says he estimates that delivery will comprise 35 to 40 percent of their business going forward, a significant increase from before the crisis. He says to-go margaritas (which weren’t allowed before) and family packs in taco, enchilada and fajita varieties are big sellers that he hopes will continue.
“I think takeout and delivery will always be a bigger thing for us,” he says.
In terms of in-restaurant dining, both managers feel that will bounce back as customers come to trust that it’s safe again and seek the happy times they enjoyed eating there before.
And restaurants themselves will improve because of this crisis, Santiago believes.
“I think in the long term, this experience is teaching us a better way to handle things, to be more patient,” Santiago says. “Sometimes we forget about being patient in the rush of the business.”
Stay tuned for the May/June/July issue of el Restaurante, which will feature a series of articles on preparing to re-open. You’ll hear more from Mayes, Santiago, and many other restaurant owns and consultants in that issue. It’s going to press next week.